fungus · The Trophy Room
Late Fall Oyster
The oyster mushroom's tougher, greener cousin that shows up when everything else is done. The late fall oyster (once Panellus serotinus) flushes on dead logs through the first frosts, an olive-green shelf that keeps a forager fed into the cold months. Edible, but earns its keep with long cooking.
Identifying
- fan or shelf shaped caps in olive-green to yellow-brown, often with a velvety edge
- crowded orange-yellow gills running to a stubby, off-center stem
- rubbery and firm — noticeably tougher than a true oyster mushroom
- grows shelved on dead hardwood logs, late in the season when true oysters are gone
Facts
- one of the very last edible mushrooms of the year, fruiting after hard frosts
- needs thorough cooking — the flesh is chewy and some find it mildly bitter raw
- the green tint separates it from the pale true oyster it mimics
