How to find and recognize them

Appearance of the oyster mushroom

The oyster mushroom can be very variable in its hat color, from ocher to slate gray to brown, everything is possible. The hats are also arranged in the shape of a shell and roof tiles one above the other.

cap

The side-stalked hat is only shell-shaped and rather small in young oyster mushrooms, while older specimens develop oval to funnel-shaped hats up to 15 centimeters in size. In addition, the hat is curved inwards at the edge. Typically, oyster mushrooms that grow in cool summers are more beige, in autumn and winter they turn darker in color from slate gray to brown. They never stand individually, but rather above one another.

Slats

The wide, distant lamellae are whitish to cream-colored in young mushrooms and only turn yellow with increasing age. They always run down a stick.

stalk

The white to brownish stem usually sits on the side of the hat and is usually very short or even only hinted at.

meat

The flesh of young oyster mushrooms is whitish and soft, with age the mushrooms become tough, especially in the stalk.

Likelihood of confusion

The slightly poisonous mussel mushroom is much smaller and has lamellae that stop abruptly at the yellow velvet stem.

When and where to look

When stalking oyster mushrooms, you have to take a close look at the thick, lying or standing dead wood of deciduous trees - especially that of beeches. You can even find what you are looking for in snow in the cold season, because oyster mushrooms only develop fruiting bodies from 11 degrees Celsius and less. This makes them perfect for a Christmas menu from self-collected mushrooms. It is mainly collected in the months of December to March, although oyster mushrooms can sometimes also be found in cool, damp summers.