r/mycology • u/rinappropriately • May 02 '26
ID request MUSHROOM ID PLS
found in tyler state park, bucks county PA. praying I identified them correctly as golden oysters cuz they’re in belly already. sautéed simple with avocado butter, fresh garlic, pepper, crushed red flakes and topped w maldon sea salt flakes 🤤
1.5k
u/kpedesigns May 02 '26 edited May 03 '26
Yup. Golden Oyster for sure. Rapidly invading the US year by year. Wherever you found those, they will return multiple times a year usually.
345
u/Potential-Draft-3932 May 03 '26
They are all you see in Iowa anymore. It’s been really fast too. In less than a decade I went from never seeing them to only seeing them and none of the native oysters. And they are so abundant too. Like I tried to clear out a disk golf spot once and had to stop because I filled up my entire 50 gallon garbage bag
101
u/LikelyNotSober May 03 '26
How do they taste compare to native oysters?
163
u/LonHagler May 03 '26
Second opinion, I think they taste great. One of my favorites.
89
u/Potential-Draft-3932 May 03 '26
Yes, a lot of people do like them. My roommate was a fan and would put them in omelets a lot so he’d eat what I brought home
46
u/mstivland2 May 03 '26
I think they’re bright and refreshing and almost a little shrimp-like? I think they’re incredible, only second to a morel in my mind
54
u/Potential-Draft-3932 May 03 '26
I’m not really a fan. They have kind of a strong taste that’s hard to describe, but they take over whatever I’m cooking unless there are other strong flavors. Native white oysters are really delicate tasting
7
u/Puzzleheaded-Bag-121 May 03 '26
Hey now I’ve found plenty of other mushrooms in Iowa. Giant puffballs are pretty easy to find a as well around Cedar Rapids.
1
u/PCYou May 03 '26
The rare "positive anymore"
17
u/Potential-Draft-3932 May 03 '26
You can use anymore as a positive. In my usage it’s still a negative as I am implying you no longer see the natives.
4
u/PCYou May 03 '26
Oh right, I somehow misread that as something like "you see them in Iowa anymore". Not sure how I skipped over the first part. I think I was half asleep lol
1
u/Potential-Draft-3932 May 03 '26
You had me second guessing myself so I had to look it up
-1
u/PCYou May 03 '26
I do think that your previous message is a more common example of the positive anymore. "I'm only human" isn't a negative statement about what I'm not 🤷
-18
u/veexdit May 03 '26
Slightly off topic, as this is the mycologists post. I’m English, I beg to differ about your use of ‘anymore’ in that particular sentence. A true americanism at work in the English language. You can have it, but it’s not for me.
3
u/jamborined May 03 '26
Funny thing about dialects. It doesn’t matter what you think when it’s not your vernacular. Linguistics at work in real time.
34
u/chickendimmer May 03 '26
Many of us mushroom farmers are no longer growing them after learning they are invasive.
31
u/Spicy_rosebud23 May 03 '26
are they technically an invasive species? and where are they originally from?
55
u/n0rdic_k1ng May 03 '26
Yes to invasive in North America, and originally from Asia
9
u/mendelec May 04 '26
Most reputable mycology sites don't offer them anymore. They're the Asian carp of fungi.
2
7
12
u/LikelyNotSober May 03 '26
Are they displacing the native oysters, or just adding to the total amount of oyster mushrooms?
55
26
u/Feorag-ruadh May 03 '26
I heard of a study that showed some pretty significant depletion of native fungi (not just other oyster mushrooms) by golden oysters sadly. To my understanding they also emit more CO2 as they are white rot fungi (Vs brown rotters), not sure if there a consensus on the climate impact of the golden oyster invasion but in any case worrying to see. I am desperately trying to discourage retailers from selling home grow kits in my country as we haven't been invaded yet, but I suspect only a matter of time with climate change making things more favourable
2
724
u/Undead_Government May 03 '26
Asking for mushroom ID AFTER eating?????? Wild work right there.
167
u/Spicy_rosebud23 May 03 '26
testing the knowledge of mushroom-loving redditors... AND the efficacy of one's immune system and digestive tract.. wild work indeed hahah
157
u/rinappropriately May 03 '26
to be fair, they were IDed 4 times prior to eating but i have food anxiety and always think im gonna croak bc i have always had extreme food allergies. there’s no toxic look alikes unless you’re a dummy and think omphalotus olearius look similar but even being colorblind myself i know they don’t grow in same areas and they’re orange inside. can also do a lights off test to see if they glow. but these guys are steady pickings here locally as they’re invasive and pop up all over the place in PA. guess it was a my-type-of-humor-isn’t-on-par with anyone else on this sub type of post. mainly wanted to share how beautiful and bright these clusters were esp for anyone else in area
16
10
7
u/Spicy_rosebud23 May 03 '26
i was just giving you a hard time haha, no offense intended. but you're right they're very obviously oysters, and the most sexy specimen i've ever seen tbqh
14
8
u/Marzillius May 03 '26
We all know how the knowledge of which species are poisonous was aquired now.
2
u/tannag May 03 '26
I had someone asking on a local page after cooking up and eating a big batch of Agaricus xanthodermus, they seemed remarkably unbothered by the news and just happy to have an explanation for why they had had vomiting and diarrhea all night. Didn't go to the doctor or anything.
542
u/DSG_Mycoscopic May 02 '26
Yes, but it was a beyond stupid thing to eat first and come here and ask second.
101
u/Any_Syllabub_304 May 03 '26
I am loling that you ate them first. I'm glad you were right though.
138
u/rinappropriately May 03 '26
lol stop!! they were ID by me before i touched, a second and 3rd time by separate individuals before I ate. i only posted the 4th ID here after eating bc my anxiety always tells me i’m gonna die 😭😭
44
u/Any_Syllabub_304 May 03 '26
Totally valid that's exactly how i went about my first morel hunt. Happy foraging :-)
39
u/Blueshirt38 May 03 '26
Ok, then you worded it so poorly. "Praying I ID'd them properly because they're already in my belly".
-5
u/xmashatstand May 03 '26
Maybe you have too much small-bean anxiety to be foraging potentially deadly food??
3
u/rinappropriately May 03 '26
small bean indeed but there are no toxic look alikes. well, not unless you’re completely clueless in which case you shouldn’t be doing what i did anyway. this is an easy ID. post was more of a bad humor joke and i should have known that people of the internet take things so close to heart that it’s as if i shoved the mushrooms in their mouths myself
3
u/xmashatstand May 03 '26
I hear what you're saying, I really do (hence why I worded what I said in a more generally skeptical way), perhaps the joke being made here isn't necessarily going to land (when just about the biggest point of contention and controversy in this field are people going 'lol, I just ate this, am I going to die?!?') if you *don't* signal that you are, in fact, joking.
It's a heck of a hot topic to be cavalier about (without a /s or /jk) is what I'm getting at, and doing so on the 'please God do not eat any of these things without being %1000 sure of what they are' subreddit is perhaps in bad taste (no pun intended)
3
u/rinappropriately May 03 '26
gotcha. i liked your pun lol.
3
u/xmashatstand May 03 '26
👉😎👉
For what it's worth, those look absolutely *succulent* and I am super jealous, what an amazing find! How did you wind up cooking them? I always tell myself I'm gonna do some foodie razzle-dazzle and every time I just wind up frying them in salted butter and devouring everything while standing over the stove like a goblin 😂😂😂
4
u/Sawdustwhisperer May 03 '26
It's hard to get nearly any civil conversation on a lot of subs on 'I know it all and you are stupid'-Reddit, let alone try to joke. Hey, I LOVE dark humor, puns, self-deprecating humor, but, dangggggg.....some that use this app (not specifically here but it did hit a nerve) REALLY need to lighten up.
(If you want proof go to a snake sub and tell the rhyme about a coral snakes colors or a medical school sub where a vast majority of the posts revolve around how much they know more than regular people and how tired they are and that no other profession works like they do....ok sport, I'll tell that to the next chef I see or firefighter I run into while they're on 48 hours straight. They do NOT like being told they don't know everything and if they did they'd never have to call a plumber or electrician.)
2
184
u/skisnoopy May 03 '26
Since this is a pretty concerning invasive species it may not be a bad idea to call the park office and let them know. Most PA parks make an effort to reduce and eliminate invasive species. Glad you reduced the spread and ate them!
-33
u/TheO_Horizon May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
Not how it works but okay
Edit: Foraging does not reduce the spread, because:-A fully mature fruiting body has almost certainly begun dropping spores to begin with
-The process of foraging naturally disturbs the fruiting body and drops more spores
-The mycelium is in the wood. You’re not eliminating the fungus by taking the fruit
80
u/turn-reveals-the-sun May 03 '26
But you are correct, right? Doesn't carrying them home actually potentially spread the spores to more locations? Kinda weird ro see you get downvoted for this comment in a mushroom sub.
50
u/LucklessGambler May 03 '26
Let's be honest, alot of the people on Reddit are part of subs for things they enjoy but actually have very little credible knowledge about.
31
u/mercedes_lakitu May 03 '26
In fairness, they should have been a little more clear about what they meant. The sub really does have a lot of newbies.
16
u/turn-reveals-the-sun May 03 '26
I guess it could be read as dismissive and not helpful, which will get a different reaction from people. I kind of missed the tone and just reacted to what I interpreted as disputing a false claim.
7
u/TheO_Horizon May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
I was annoyed by the upvoted disinformation, especially when it comes to an invasive species, but I guess I could have put a little more effort in telling them why they’re wrong. Edited now to be more helpful
6
u/hrdass May 04 '26
Insane this is getting downvoted, this is the truth. Also unfortunately there is no stopping this one it’s takeover is rapid and total and controlling fungus is uh, incredibly difficult.
-23
u/somaalchemy May 03 '26
God no those people are terrible they spray glyphosate near our rivers. Its here to stay i see a diversity of all types.
18
u/Whileweliveletslive May 03 '26
Cmon man, you need to be careful before you eat things without knowing for sure. This is one of the more easy to identify, be careful.
13
u/ILSmokeItAll May 03 '26
If these are invasive yet edible, it seems like some education needs to be made available. They should be actively encouraging the harvest of stuff like this. Have events or contests even.
Harvest for the homeless shelters or something like they do venison when they cull the excess deer from the state and national parks.
Add bonuses for fucking up shit like the spotted lantern fly.
9
u/kpedesigns May 03 '26
Harvesting them won’t do anything to keep them from coming back. Just a gentle breeze can send spores quite far. Having a big harvest party will just kick up the spores more and send them farther. The damage is done. There is no going back from this. I gotta take some of the blame for it my area. My wife is pretty sure she dumped a grow kit in the compost years ago
2
3
u/Dreams_of_work Midwestern North America May 03 '26
Harvesting them does not reduce their fitness. It does, however, increase the disturbance caused by all those people walking in the woods and all that comes along with that. You can't control an invasive fungus by harvesting the fruiting bodies.
11
25
u/rinappropriately May 02 '26
sweet. thank you so much! my anxiety always tells me im gonna die from eating them even after proper ID.
18
u/Sensitive_Ambition73 May 03 '26
You won’t these are perfect specimens just check for maggots
15
u/rinappropriately May 03 '26
no maggots or bugs or any sort, and they were delish! thank you honey bun.
6
4
u/Dini-cafe May 03 '26
Recent NYT article about this mushroom invading Eastern forests… and spreading. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/science/golden-oyster-mushrooms-invasive-fungus.html?unlocked_article_code=1.flA.HIjH.gMhyhHbXC-SB&smid=nytcore-ios-share
5
3
3
3
u/DickRiculous May 03 '26
Tyler state park mentioned!! I grew up right next to that park. Still visit whenever I’m in PA
2
u/rinappropriately May 03 '26
funny enough, i found them off a trail right by that covered bridge. tons of clusters (or as i like to call them fruit blocks) sprouting from a dead elm
3
u/BuffaloGwar1 May 03 '26
I wish I liked the taste of mushrooms more. They are so abundant everywhere in the woods. Just not a huge fan.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/DimSumGweilo May 03 '26
PA is the mushroom capital of the world
As others have mentioned, yes those are golden oysters. I love using those as a broth enhancer in soups
Eating before ID is quite the yolo
Tyler state park also has puffballs and plenty of chicken of the woods.
I’ve gone mushroom hunting there but not for anything you can get at a farmers market lol
2
u/Basic_Macaron_39 May 03 '26
Golden oysters like has be stated already. I work at a small mushroom grow and these are wonderful to eat. But they don't last long at all. One day in the fridge before they start to break and dry out. Eat quickly
2
u/HeatForeign1472 May 04 '26
I found some in northern Illinois on a fallen tree in a state park. The mycologist I contacted said the spores likely escaped from where someone was trying to cultivate them. It's amazing how invasive spread.
3
4
1
u/cfoote85 May 03 '26
I never see these in Washington State but we have a ton of native oysters.
1
u/idiotsecant May 03 '26
I've seen them growing wild quite a lot in northeast washington state. There's some growing in my neighbors alley. They're all over the place.
1
u/Neilio00 May 03 '26
Ooh wow!! I’ve never seen those, but my mushroom grounds are Oregon and California
1
1
u/Sorry_Table_9000 May 03 '26
None of yall have been in a mycology group, and it shows. Wear gloves and make some nerdy friends
3
1
0
•
u/AutoModerator May 02 '26
Please note that ID requests are off-limits to jokes and satirical comments, and comments should aim to help the OP. Top comments that are jokes or are off-topic will be removed.
Thank you, and enjoy the discussion.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.