Pleurotus citrinopileatus

 Scientific classification

Kingdom: Fungi

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Family: Pleurotaceae

Genus: Pleurotus

General information

Common name(s): The golden oyster mushroom; tamogitake (Japanese); Ii' mak (Soviet Far East term for elm mushroom)   
                  
Edibility: Edible  

Distribution: Native to the forested, subtropics of China, southern Japan and adjacent regions.

Description
This species can grow up to 5 cm in diameter. Its depressed and convex cap expands to plane when mature and presents us with colours that vary from golden to bright yellow. It has decurrent gills which show through the translucent cap flesh and Its white stem is centrally  attached to the caps. P. citrinopileatus fruiting bodies usually grow in clusters diverging from a single and joined base. Sometimes these clusters can be composed of more than an hundred mushrooms. As strains of this species senesce, the yellow cap color is lost, becoming beige, and fewer mushrooms are produced in each primordial cluster.

Natural habitat: This saprophytic mushroom grows on Asian hardwoods, especially oaks, elm, beech and poplars.

Use in medicine: 

• antihyperglycemic properties
• decreasing blood sugar levels (diabetic rats)
• source of lipid-lowering drugs
• potentially cures pulmonary emphysema

Preparation and Cooking: Mushrooms are better broken into small pieces and stir-fried, at high heat for at least 15-20 minutes.This mushroom is extremely bitter and tangy when lightly cooked, flavor sensations pleasant to few and disdained by most.

Sources:

- Stamets, Paul (2000). Growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms.

-  "Antihyperlipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Extracts from Pleurotus citrinopileatus". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry