Pink oyster mushroom or Oyster mushroom

The cap of the pink oyster mushroom is small — from 2 to 6, rarely up to 10 centimeters across. It is fan-shaped, tongue-shaped or lobed, with a thin, often wavy margin. The surface is smooth or faintly velvety, dry and matte. The color is the species' main glory: bright pink, coral or salmon in young mushrooms, fading with age to pale pink and cream. The mushrooms grow fused in dense, tiered clusters.

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 hymenophore is gilled. The gills are pink or pinkish-cream, matching the cap, fairly crowded, running noticeably down the short stem or decurrent to the point of attachment. The spore print is pale pink or lilac. The pink decurrent gills make this species easy to recognize among the 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, pinkish-white; often several mushrooms are fused at a common base into a single cluster. The surface is smooth. There is no ring and no volva. The stem flesh is tougher than the cap, so mostly the caps are eaten.

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 thin, tender, pinkish or whitish, and does not change color when cut. The taste is mild and pleasant; when fried it reminds some people of bacon or seafood. Because the flesh is so thin, young caps are chosen for the table. During cooking the bright pink color almost disappears.

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, mushroomy, slightly sweetish in fresh specimens. The aroma is not a defining feature; the mushroom is recognized above all by the bright pink-coral color of its caps, its growth in dense clusters on broadleaf wood and its pink decurrent gills.

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.