A clustered, whitish to pale tan wood-rotting mushroom on hardwoods. Young caps are often marked with watery spots, the 'tessulated' marbling. It is the wild species behind the cultivated buna-shimeji (brown) and bunapi-shimeji (white) beech mushrooms.
Edible when cooked. Raw mushrooms are tough and bitter; cooking removes the bitterness and makes them easier to digest. Wild collectors should separate it from the elm oyster (H. ulmarius), which has larger spores, lacks the watery spots and grows singly on elm or box elder.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
Habitat
Saprobic on hardwood wood, usually in small clusters; frequently on beech, and in North America most often on aspens, cottonwoods and sugar maple. Fall.
Distribution
Native to East Asia; widespread in eastern and northern North America, sometimes reported from the Rocky Mountains and West Coast. Cultivated in temperate Europe, North America and Australia.
Characteristics
Cap: 4-15 cm; convex, becoming broadly convex to flat, margin slightly inrolled; dry, bald; whitish to buff or very pale tan; young caps often with watery spots (marbling). Gills: attached (adnexed to sinuate), close, whitish. Stem: 3-11 cm long, 1-3 cm thick; whitish; equal or thicker at the base. Flesh: firm, white. Spore print: white to buff. Spores: 4-5 µm, subglobose, smooth, inamyloid.
