Oyster mushroom confirmation

[scotth]

Hello Everyone, I'm relatively new to mushroom hunting and new to the site. Hoping someone could help me identify these. Reading a book called Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois I think these are oysters. They are growing on a dying sugar maple tree. I did a spore print and the spores are white which also suggests oysters according to my book. I cant really describe the smell. I'm really anxious to try them but this being the first time I'm identifying nervous to. And if they killed me I'd feel pretty silly I'm sure.

[Dave W]

I'm pretty certain those are Oyster Mushrooms. Looks like nice fresh ones! I wonder if you take the spore print on a white background if a little color would be seen?

[scotth]

Yeah I actually took that picture a couple days ago. They are alot bigger now. Perhaps I will cut them down tomorrow and see if they come back. I will also do another spore print with white paper to look for color. My book doesn't mention any poisonous mushrooms that look like oysters. Do you know of any?

[Dave W]

Although many field guides list Pleurocybella porrigens (Angel Wings) as good edible, there is at least one report of toxicity. Some elderly people in Japan became ill after eating this type mushroom. I have eaten Angel Wings many times without a problem. Oyster Mushrooms grow in the wild on wood of hardwood trees. Angel Wings grow on coniferous wood. This is a dependable way to separate the species. Also, Angel Wings are always pure white in color (as are some Oysters). Oyster Mushrooms often show a tan/gray/brown tinge on the caps.... like the ones seen in this thread. 

Hohenbuehelia petaloides resembles Oysters, but to my knowledge it is not toxic. Other species of Hohenbuehelia may also resemble Oysters. Species of Crepidotus are smaller than Oysters and have brown spore prints. Phyllotopsis nidulans is orange/yellow, hairy, and often smells bad. As far as I know, none of these are toxic. 

[scotth]

Thanks a lot for all your help, Dave! I picked enough today to coat the bottom of 2 paper grocery bags and hardly put a dent in what's on the tree. There are a lot of bugs living in the gills but I suppose that is to be expected. I'm doing a spore print on white paper like you suggested and we'll see tomorrow what it looks like.

[John Smalldridge]

Scotth, you can get rid of many of the bugs on oyster mushrooms by tapping on the cap several times before picking. I have seen beetles hiding in the gills with no apparent damage to the flesh of the mushrooms. If it has been infested with flies, then you cannot get rid of them and the flesh of the mushrooms will have larvae.

[Dave W]

Selective harvesting is often the way to go when a large flush of Oyster Mushrooms are at hand. And, like John says, you can often rid the mushrooms of beetles in the field. 

[scotth]

Thanks again for all your help guys. Such an awesome site! I don't know how well I did selecting which ones to pick. The texture felt the same to me on all of them. I tossed what I thought had more bark stuck in them then others but that's about it.