Pale oyster or Oyster mushroom

The cap of the pale oyster reaches 4 to 8, occasionally up to 15 centimeters across. It is fan-shaped, tongue-shaped or almost semicircular, with a thin, often wavy or slightly split margin. The surface is smooth, dry and matte. The coloring is pale: whitish-gray, cream or pale ocher, often darker where it attaches to the wood; with age and in sunlight the cap turns noticeably yellow. It's this pale, almost white color that sets the species apart from the grayish-brown oyster mushroom.

Cap 5–25 cm across, rounded or ear-shaped in young mushrooms, then fan-shaped or oyster-shaped (hence the English name oyster mushroom). Surface smooth, moist, from dark gray or gray-blue in young ones to pale gray or almost white in mature ones. Margin wavy, thin.

The underside has gills. The gills are white or cream, fairly distant and thick, running noticeably down the stem, and where there is no stem, running all the way down to where the cap attaches. The spore print is white or with a barely noticeable lilac tinge. Decurrent white gills that stay pale for a long time are a characteristic feature of oyster mushrooms.

Gills crowded, whitish or cream, running from the cap down the stem. In young mushrooms the gills are tightly packed; in old ones they spread apart. Spore print white or pale lilac.

The stem is short or almost absent, usually lateral or off-center, up to 4 centimeters long, dirty white, downy-hairy at the base. Several mushrooms often grow together at the stems in a single cluster. The stem flesh is tough, especially in mature specimens, so mostly the caps are eaten. There is no ring and no volva.

Stem 1–5 cm tall (or almost absent in side-attached mushrooms), 1–2.5 cm thick, firm, off-center or lateral, white or slightly gray. No ring and no volva.

The flesh is white, tender and juicy in young mushrooms, becoming firmer and fibrous with age, especially closer to the stem. It does not change color when cut. The taste is mild and pleasant, with no bitterness. For the table, choose young caps with tender flesh.

Flesh white, firm in young mushrooms, more fibrous and tough in mature ones — especially in the stem. Taste mild, slightly anise-like. Soaks up flavors well during cooking.

The smell is pleasant and mushroomy, sometimes with a barely perceptible hint of anise or flour. The aroma is fresh and not sharp, so for identification rely first of all on the pale fan-shaped cap, the decurrent white gills and growth in clusters on hardwood.

Smell pleasant, anise-mushroomy, subtle. Fresh oyster mushrooms smell soft and unobtrusive. When fried, the aroma becomes stronger and closer to the classic mushroom smell.