Hairy Oyster Mushroom

not listed

NNR - Unranked

not listed

Hairy Oyster Mushroom is a widely distributed and not uncommon gilled polypore. It occurs in Eastern Europe, North and South America, and Japan. It is found from May through November, alone, in groups, or in overlapping clusters or rosettes, on recently dead hardwood logs and stumps. Sometimes it appears to be growing on the ground but is actually attached to burried wood. It is saprobic, obtaining its nutrients from decaying wood.

When it first appears the cap is convex and the margin is tightly rolled under. When mature, the cap is ¾″ to 3″ wide, ⅛″ to ⅜″ thick, and usually depressed above the point where the stalk is attached. It may be fan-shaped on the side of a log or stump, vase-like, or round or irregular in outline and forming rosettes on the ground or a horizontal surface. It is flushed with purple at first but fades in the sun, often on the first day. to reddish-, pinkish-, or orangish-brown or tan. The upper surface is dry and is densely covered with 1 ⁄32″ to 1 ⁄16″ (1 to 2 mm) long hairs.

The stalk, when present, is ⅜″ to ¾″ long, up to ⅜″ wide, and usually off-center or at one side. It is tough, densely hairy, and colored like the cap.

The gills are close together, narrow, and run down the stalk (decurrent). They are purple at first, soon turning white, and eventually fading to tan. The spore print is white.

Hairy Oyster Mushroom is edible but the flesh is tough, thin, hairy, and sometimes bitter.

Hardwoods

May through November

Sources

4, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.

Widely disttributed and not uncommon

Species Confusion
Hairy Oyster Mushroom was named Lentinus lecomtei when it was first described in 1751. In 1981 it was moved to the genus Panus and in 1983 the name was changed to Panus strigosus. However, that name had been previously used and discarded. In 2012, to remove confusion with the other species, the name was changed to Panus neostrigosus. That change was not universally accepted. Index Fungorum, MycoPortal, and GBIF use Panus neostrigosus. MycoBank and iNaturalist use Panus lecomtei. NatureServe lists both Panus neostrigosus and Panus lecomtei.

Genus
The genus Panus was formerly placed in the family Polyporaceae. It was recently placed in the new family Panaceae.

As the common name suggests, Hairy Oyster Mushroom looks similar to to a small Oyster Mushroom, only hairy. However, recent research shows them to not evenly closely related. This is an example of convergent evolution, where similar features, in this case gills, evolved independently.

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Location: Cass County