Golden oyster mushroom

iNaturalist photo of golden oyster mushroom by Cody Johnson.

Map of Minnesota showing the distribution of golden oyster mushroom distribution with concentration around the metro and Southeast Minnesota.

Golden oyster mushroom distribution as of Febuary 17, 2026 from iNaturalist.

Golden oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus citrinopileatus, are non-native fungi that produce edible mushrooms on decaying wood. New research from the University of Wisconsin shows that golden oyster mushrooms reduce the diversity of native fungi on colonized material, a sign of competitive dominance. This mushroom seems to spread easily and is noticeable in the landscape. Please help us better understand its distribution by submitting observations to iNaturalist. We are particuarly interested in observations from western and northern Minnesota.

How you will help

Observe in iNaturalist

Submit all golden oyster mushroom observations to iNaturalist.

Watch this 1:24 minute video to learn how to report to iNaturalist.

Help verify observations in iNat

If you're a mushroom expert please help us verify golden oyster mushroom reports in Minnesota in iNaturalist. If you're new to iNat verifications review this Google Slide set created by the iNaturalist Ambassador team, curated for this project. Thank you!

iNat identification for golden oyster mushrooms

Identification

Golden oyster mushrooms have conspicuous, edible fruiting bodies that have bright yellow to golden brown caps with a velvety, dry surface texture. Caps are 0.75 - 4 inches wide. The flesh is thin, white and has a mild scent. The stems are cylindrical and curved or bent. The gills are closely spaced, run down the stem and are white to cream. They are commonly found on hardwoods including dead elms.

This 2:21 minute video from Michigan reviews the issue and best practices to harvest and prevent further spread.

Golden oyster mushroom fruit

Many gold to yellow mushroom fruit caps with indented center on dead wood.

iNaturalist image by rnhold

Golden oyster mushroom stem

Curved or bent stems with ridged gills running down the fruit to the wood.

iNaturalist image by Tanner Barnharst

Learn more

Golden oyster mushroom by Forager Chef

Questions about this project? Contact Angela Gupta, UMN Extension Forester, agupta@umn.edu

or Hana Kim, UMN Extension Educator, kim00688@umn.edu.

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