The golden oyster mushroom, a tasty species native to Asia, has proliferated in states around the Great Lakes and may crowd out native species, a new study shows.
For a few years, foragers and fungi enthusiasts around the Midwest have been seeing something yellow.
The butter-colored flushes of the golden oyster mushroom are difficult to miss. They bloom on dead or decaying trees, and they have become profuse in states around the Great Lakes.
The fungi, which are native to Asia, are good to eat and easy to grow. But a new study shows that they may also be sapping the resources of native mushrooms. And their footprint is spreading fast.
“I don’t think anyone would hesitate to call it invasive,” said Aishwarya Veerabahu, a mycologist and doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an author of the study, published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology.
She and her colleagues call the golden oyster “a literal and figurative bright yellow warning” in the study, adding that “as of now, there are no management strategies available to control its spread.”
The mushrooms were almost certainly introduced to the United States by humans, Ms. Veerabahu said. Golden oyster mushrooms and growing kits for them are sold in stores, and the fungus may have spread from backyards or compost piles.