Pleurotus eryngii

The king oyster mushroom, also known as the prickly pear mushroom, is an edible mushroom that grows in the Middle East and North Africa, but also in parts of Asia. In English, this mushroom is commonly known as king trumpet mushroom, French horn mushroom and king oyster mushroom; in Japanese, it is also known as eringi.

It is the largest species in the genus Pleurotus, which also includes another edible mushroom, the Pleurotus ostreatus. The Pleurotus ostreatus has a thick white fleshy stipe and a small tan colored cap (in the younger years). Before cooking, it gives off a light aroma. When cooked, it gives off a typical mushroom flavor and has a texture similar to abalone.

Morphological characteristics

The tamarinds are solitary, grouped or clustered. Cap 3-6 cm in diameter, initially compressed hemispherical, round, shell-shaped, slightly depressed, surface smooth, light yellow to dirty white, densely covered with light brown scales or dots; flattened at maturity, rounded, surface smooth, dry, light brown to yellow-brown, covered with brown scales; cap margins involute, sometimes dehiscent. Folds prolonged to stalk, not interwoven, purple, folds narrow, slightly dense, with small hyphae; fold margins flat and smooth. Stalk partial, mesophyllous, cylindrical, hard, base covered with dirty white tomentum, if grouped, clustered, then stalk base connected. Flesh fleshy, resilient, hard when dry, white to cream-colored. No fungal rings or curtains. Spore prints white.

Stamenspores cylindrical, long ellipsoid, smooth surface, thin-walled, with conspicuous cusps, with more inclusions, non-amyloid. Stamens cylindrical, clavate, thin-walled, surface smooth; 4 stamens pedicellate, 2.5-3.8 µm long. Lateral vesicles clavate, sterile stretcher-shaped, thin-walled. Marginal vesicles absent. Substernum not thickened, composed of thick-walled, short and broad mycelial cells. Mycelial pith irregularly shaped, composed of thick-walled reproductive mycelium branches closely interwoven, mycelium diameter 2.5-7.5 microns. The capitulum mycelium is differentiated, with flat-lying, fenestrated mycelium, 2-4 microns in diameter.

Environment

The almond mushroom is a saprophytic and sometimes parasitic fungus that grows under natural conditions on the roots and in the surrounding soil of alpine, steppe, and desert plants of the umbelliferae family, such as Eryngium foetidum L. and Ferula assa-foetida L., mostly on the dead remains of the protoplasm of Eryngium foetidum L. The plant is a fungus that grows on the roots and in the surrounding soil of Eryngium foetidum L..

Habits

The temperature range of apricot abalone mushroom mycelium growth is 5-30℃, the suitable temperature is 20-28℃, and the optimal temperature is 25-26℃; the mycelium can grow on the substrate with pH 4-8, and the optimal pH is 6.5-7.5, and the optimal pH for mushroom emergence is 5.5-6.5; there is difficulty in mushroom emergence with a pH value of less than 4 or a pH value of more than 8.

In the growth and development period of young apricot abalone mushroom, lower relative humidity of air can make the development of mushroom body more solid, under the condition of 70%-80% relative humidity of air, although young mushroom can continue to grow and develop, it will lead to the mushroom body becoming smaller; under higher relative humidity, the substrate will increase the mushroom shape beautifully; the optimum relative humidity for the growth and development of substrate should be 85%-95%, excessive humidity and high temperature will cause the mushroom body yellowing and rotting; under higher relative humidity, the substrate will grow and develop in a more suitable relative humidity of 85%-95%; over-wet and high temperature will cause mushroom body yellowing and rotting. Under the condition of lower relative humidity, the fruiting body can grow and develop normally, but the growth speed is slower, the fruiting body is smaller, and the yield is lower.

Key Values

Food Value

Apricot mushroom flesh is fat, crisp and tender, rich in nutrients, delicious flavor, cap, stalk are very good taste, crisp like abalone, and almond flavor, “king of the flat mushrooms,” as the name. According to the determination of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Fujian Province, the crude protein content of the mushroom is 20%, crude fat is 3.5%, crude fiber is 13.28%, rich in minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus content is high, polysaccharide content of 6.3%, higher than the content of shiitake mushrooms 5.7%. The total amount of 17 kinds of amino acids in apricot mushroom is as high as 15.85%, of which the content of essential amino acids is 6.65%, the content of arginine and lysine is especially high, which is an extremely precious natural health food.

Economic value

Cultivation of the ambergris mushroom can utilize sawdust of forest processing scraps and abundant crop stalks and their by-products such as cotton husk, bagasse, wine lees, etc., such as soybean stalks, cotton boll shells, cotton stalks, bagasse, etc., which are crushed to cultivate the ambergris mushroom, and every 50 kg of culture material can generally produce 30-40 kg of fresh mushrooms. Cultivation of almond mushroom can also be moved from indoor to outdoor places, such as under the garden, under the bamboo forest and winter field trellis, but also can be used to realize the annual production of idle cold storage, manned fortifications, etc.. In addition, the mushroom can be developed into a wide range of mushroom products, such as mushroom sauce, mushroom drinks, mushroom salted products, instant health cereals, mushroom soft cans and so on.

Industrial raw materials

Apricot mushroom dregs are rich in mycelial protein and other nutrients, which can be used as high-quality feed and bait for livestock, poultry and fish, and can also be used as fertilizer to return directly to the field to fertilize the soil and promote agricultural production into a virtuous cycle. Almond abalone mushroom is a white rot fungus, can produce ligninolytic enzymes, applied to a variety of biotechnology, can also be used in agricultural residues conversion, paper industry applications, soil and water bioremediation and other fields.