Veiled oyster or Porcelain fungus
Veiled oyster and Porcelain fungus are similar species: Veiled oyster is edible, while Porcelain fungus is conditionally edible. The main visible difference: stem: Veiled oyster — lateral, Porcelain fungus — central. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: cap surface, smell, size.
Not sure? Identify by photoSide by side
| Characteristic | Veiled oyster | Porcelain fungus |
|---|---|---|
| Edibility class | Veiled oyster: Edible | Porcelain fungus: Conditionally edible |
| Season | Veiled oyster: Summer, Autumn | Porcelain fungus: Spring, Summer, Autumn |
| Size | Veiled oyster: Large (over 15 cm) | Porcelain fungus: Medium (5–15 cm) |
| Cap colour | Veiled oyster: White, Cream, Brown | Porcelain fungus: White, Grey, Cream |
| Cap shape | Veiled oyster: Convex | Porcelain fungus: Convex, Flat |
| Cap surface | Veiled oyster: Velvety | Porcelain fungus: Slimy |
| Smell | Veiled oyster: Pleasant | Porcelain fungus: Odourless |
| Stem | Veiled oyster: Lateral | Porcelain fungus: Central |
| Substrate | Veiled oyster: Living tree, Dead wood | Porcelain fungus: Dead wood, Living tree, On wood |
| Nutrition type | Veiled oyster: Parasite | Porcelain fungus: Saprotroph, Parasite |
| Partner trees | Veiled oyster: Oak, Beech, Hornbeam | Porcelain fungus: Beech, Oak |
| Growth habit | Veiled oyster: Solitary, In clusters from one base | Porcelain fungus: In clusters from one base, In groups |
Same in both: use, taste, flesh colour change, hymenophore, ring (veil).
When and where they meet
Together: August–November
Their seasons overlap: August–November. At that time you can find both in the same woods. Shared habitats: deciduous forest, mixed forest.
What they look like
Cap, Hymenophore, Stem, Flesh, Smell
Cap
Veiled oyster
The cap is up to 20 cm across, fan-shaped and attached to the wood at the side, convex when young, then flattening out. It's pale cream to beige, sometimes with a yellowish tint. Young caps are velvety with fine greyish-brown scales; they become smooth with age and may crack when old. Veil remnants sometimes cling to the edges.
Porcelain fungus
The cap is 2 to 8 cm across, occasionally up to 10 cm. It starts convex or hemispherical, then becomes broadly convex or flattened. Young caps are greyish or olive-grey, later white and translucent like porcelain, often with a faint ochre flush in the centre.
In wet weather it's coated in thick, clear slime, though young caps are almost dry. The margin is thin, and the gills show through it.
Hymenophore
Veiled oyster
The gills run far down the stem and, lower down, sometimes join up with wavy cross-connections. They're white, turning yellowish in mature mushrooms. The spore print is white; the spores are elongated, 9–15 × 3–5 µm.
Porcelain fungus
The gills are broad, very widely spaced, attached to the stem, white and translucent, and can turn slightly ochre with age.
The spore print is white and very abundant.
Stem
Veiled oyster
The stem is short and set off to one side, from almost absent to 10 cm long. It's whitish or pale brownish. A distinctive feature is a membranous or flaky ring near the top (veil remnants); in mature mushrooms it often falls off, leaving a band.
Porcelain fungus
The stem is 3 to 8 cm tall, occasionally up to 10 cm, and 3 to 10 mm thick, slim and tough, often curved, and slightly swollen at the base. It's white and finely lined above the ring, greyish and finely scaly below it.
The ring is white, membranous, prominent, slimy and grooved.
Flesh
Veiled oyster
The flesh is white, springy and fibrous in young mushrooms, turning tough and leathery with age. It does NOT change colour when cut. Sometimes it contains extra thick-walled hyphae that make it even tougher.
Porcelain fungus
The flesh is thin and white, turning brownish at the stem base with age.
Smell
Veiled oyster
It smells pleasant, slightly fruity or sourish; young ones can smell like wildflowers. The taste is mild and delicate.
Porcelain fungus
The smell and taste aren't distinctive.
Related comparisons
Sources · 16
- [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [3]MycoBank Database
- [4]Index Fungorum
- [5]GBIF
- [6]iNaturalist Ukraine
- [7]Species Fungorum
- [8]Wikipedia (English)
- [9]Википедия (русская)
- [10]First Nature: Oudemansiella mucida, Porcelain Fungus
- [11]Wild Food UK: Porcelain Fungus
- [12]Wikipedia (en): Strobilurin
- [13]Niego A.G. et al. Oudemansiella and allied genera: a review of their bioactive compounds and uses. 2021, Niego A.G. et al. (2021)
- [14]Wikigrib: Удемансиелла слизистая
- [15]GBIF: знахідки Mucidula mucida в Україні
- [16]Naturalis: Porseleinzwam (Oudemansiella mucida)