Habitat
Pleurotus ostreatus grows in temperate biomes globally, especially in North America, Europe, and Asia. Recently, it's even been observed in South America. However...
Commercial Cultivation
Pleurotus ostreatus is harvested as a delicacy globally from both commercial farms and from hobbyists and as a genus Pleurotus ranks second globally at 25% of world mushroom production behind Agaricus bisporus, the white-button mushroom.
Pleurotus ostreatus has been successfully grown from a variety of substrates including sawdust, newspaper shavings, and even rolls of toilet paper. If you're interested in growing them yourself, kits are available online. I'm not about to endorse any of them myself, but you can google it if interested.
In the Wild...
The pearl oyster mushroom isn't a picky fungi in nature either. Pleurotus ostreatus will grow on a variety of woods including:
- Acer saccharinum, Silver maple
- Acer saccharum, Sugar maple
- Populus deltoides, Cottonwood
- Fagus grandifolia, American Beech
- Quercus phellos, Willow oak
- Picea glauca, White spruce
- Picea mariana, Black spruce
- Malus pumila, Crabapple
- Fraxinus americana, White Ash
- Betula alleghaniensis, Yellow Birch
- Betula papyrifera, Paper Birch/White Birch
- And many many more documented here.
Click here to continue with learning about the medicinal applications of Pleurotus ostreatus.