Pleurotus is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely
eaten mushrooms, P. ostreatus. Species of Pleurotus may be called oyster,
abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonly cultivated edible
mushrooms in the world. Pleurotus fungi have been used in mycoremediation of
pollutants such as petroleum and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Pleurotus means "side ear", from Greek πλευρή, "side" + ὠτός, genitive of οὖς,
"ear". Description
The caps may be laterally attached. If there is a stem, it is normally
eccentric and the gills are decurrent along it. The term pleurotoid is used
for mushrooms having this general shape. The spores are smooth and elongated.
Where hyphae meet, they are joined by clamp connections. Pleurotus is not
considered to be a bracket fungus, and most of the species are monomitic.
However, remarkably, Pleurotus dryinus can sometimes be dimitic, meaning that
it has additional skeletal hyphae, which give it a tougher consistency like
bracket fungi. Ecology
Pleurotus fungi are found in both tropical and temperate climates
throughout the world. Most species of Pleurotus are white-rot fungi on
hardwood trees, although some also decay conifer wood. P. eryngii is unusual in
its association with herbaceous plants, and P. tuber-regium produces underground
sclerotia. In addition to being saprotrophic, all species of Pleurotus
are also nematophagous, catching nematodes by paralyzing them with a
toxin. Cuisine
Oyster mushrooms are popular for cooking, torn up instead of sliced,
especially in stir fry or sauté, because they are consistently thin, and so will
cook more evenly than uncut mushrooms of other types.
Taxonomy The classification of species within the
genus Pleurotus is difficult due to high phenotypic variability across wide
geographic ranges, geographic overlap of species, and on going evolution and
speciation. Early taxonomic efforts placed the oyster mushrooms within
Agaricus. Paul Kummer defined the genus Pleurotus in 1871; since then, the genus
has been narrowed with species moving to other genera such as Favolaschia,
Hohenbuehelia, Lentinus, Marasmiellus, Omphalotus, Panellus, Pleurocybella, and
Resupinatus. See Singer for an example of Pleurotus taxonomy based on
morphological characteristics. Phylogeny
More recently, molecular phylogenetics has been utilized to determine genetic
and evolutionary relationships between groups within the genus, delineating
discrete clades. Pleurotus, along with the closely related genus Hohenbuehelia,
has been shown to be monophyletic. Tests of cross-breeding viability between
groups have been used to further define which groups are deserving of species
rank, as opposed to subspecies, variety, or synonymy. If two groups of
morphologically distinct Pleurotus fungi are able to cross-breed and produce
fertile offspring, they meet one definition of species. These
reproductively discrete groups, referred to as intersterility groups, have begun
to be defined in Pleurotus. Many binomial names used in literature are
now being grouped together as species complexes using this technique, and may
change. = Phylogenetic species =
The following species list is organized according to 1. phylogenetic clade, 2.
intersterility group or sub-clade, and then 3. any older binomial names that
have been found to be closely related, reproductively compatible, or
synonymous, although they may no longer be taxonomically valid. This list is
likely to be incomplete. P. ostreatus cladeI. P. ostreatus –
North America and northern EurasiaP. florida
II. P. pulmonarius – North America, Eurasia, and AustralasiaP. columbinus
P. sapidus III. P. populinus – North America
VI. P. eryngii – Europe and the Middle EastP. ferulae
P. fossulatus – Afghanistan P. nebrodensis
XII. P. abieticola – Asia XIII. P. albidus – Caribbean, Central
America, South America P. djamor-cornucopiae clade
IV. P. cornucopiae – Europe P. citrinopileatus – eastern Asia
P. euosmus V. P. djamor – pantropical
P. flabellatus P. salmoneo-stramineus
P. salmonicolor XI. P. opuntiae – North America, New
Zealand XVI. P. calyptratus
P. cystidiosus clade VII. P. cystidiosus – Global
P. abalonus – Taiwan P. fuscosquamulosus – Africa, Europe
P. smithii – Mexico IX. P. dryinus – North America, Europe,
and New Zealand VIII. P. levis – subtropical to tropical
X. P. tuber-regium – Africa, Asia, Australasia
XIV. P. australis – Australia and New Zealand
XV. P. purpureo-olivaceus – Australia and New ZealandP. rattenburyi
= Species of unclear relationship = P. gardneri
P. parsonsii P. velatus
= Former species = P. sajor-caju was moved to the genus
Lentinus. P. nidiformis was moved to the genus
Omphalotus in 1994. See also
Antromycopsis – an anamorphic form of Pleurotus
List of Pleurotus species References
External links Pleurotus in Index Fungorum.
Pleurotus in MycoBank. Pleurotus Genus on the Mushroom, the
Journal of Wild Mushrooming site Oysters: Pleurotoid Mushrooms at
MushroomExpert.com Dichotomous key for Pleurotus species
from University of Tennessee-Knoxville Mycology Lab
Oyster Mushroom recipes, Wild About Mushrooms, The Cookbook of the San
Francisco Mycological Society, by Louise Freedman