Golden oyster mushroom
Pleurotus citrinopileatus
A cousin of the oyster mushroom, recognisable by its bright yellow clusters.
Partial shade
Role in permaculture
The same recycler role for wood and straw as the oyster mushroom, but shifted to the hot season, useful for spreading production in a forest garden.
Growing this mushroom
- Method
- Hardwood logs and stumps, or pasteurised straw (like the oyster mushroom)
- Substrate
- Various hardwoods (from the softest to the hardest) and pasteurised cereal straw. A fast, vigorous mycelium; the bright-yellow clustered fruitings are fragile and keep poorly.
- Where to place it
- Straw bales or hardwood logs placed in a shaded area of the garden during the fine season. Complements the oyster mushroom (cold) and the shiitake well by covering the summer production window.
- Period
- Inoculation in spring; fruiting during the hot season (late spring to summer), unlike the oyster mushroom which likes the cold.
- Level
- Beginner to intermediate
Steps
- Same actions as the oyster mushroom: inoculated and sealed logs or stumps, or pasteurised seeded straw.
- Aim for fruiting in the fine season, the species being heat-loving.
- Harvest young, the flesh being delicate, and eat quickly.
An edible appreciated for its colour and taste. It is presented here as a food.
Precautions
A heat-loving species, less frost-hardy than the oyster mushroom: to be protected in a cold climate. Very perishable fruitings. Cultivation on identified substrate: no risk of confusion. Ecological note: documented as naturalising outside its native range in North America (escapes from cultivation); not classed as such in France to date, but it's better to stay vigilant in outdoor cultivation.
Sources: Paul Stamets, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, Ten Speed Press, 2000 (Pleurotus citrinopileatus) · Tradd Cotter, Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, Chelsea Green, 2014
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
To be eaten cooked (ANSES: never raw). Fragile flesh that keeps poorly: to be cooked quickly after harvest.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers partial shade exposure.
- • Classic companion: Beech.