Mediterannean Oyster Agar Plate

Description

Pleurotus pulmonarius, commonly known as the Indian oyster, Phoenix oyster, Italian oyster, or the lung oyster, is a mushroom very similar to Pleurotus ostreatus, the pearl oyster, but with a few noticeable differences. The caps of pulmonarius are much paler and smaller than ostreatus and develops more of a stem.

P. pulmonarius also prefers warmer weather than ostreatus and will appear later in the summer. Otherwise, the taste and cultivation of the two species is generally described as largely the same. Another similar species, North America’s Pleurotus populinus, is restricted to growing on aspen and cottonwood.

Some photos on this page have been sourced from iNaturalist, taken by Alan Rockefeller or others. Licensed under CC-BY-SA3.0 or CC0.