Oyster Mushroom
Named for its shape and not its taste, this is about as good as it gets among wild mushrooms. They grow laterally from stumps , dead trees or downed logs of hardwoods or conifers in shelving fashion. The caps are tan or whitish with gills that radiate from the point of attachment of the short and always lateral stipe. Gills are white as are the spores. They are unsurpassed in culinary versatility with a soft and rather delicate texture. Batter them in bread crumbs or panko, saute them, use them in pastas or chowders, add them to pastas or casseroles or use them in Asian dishes. If you saute them, make it brief. There are no deadly look-alikes, but learn to tell them from the smaller and thinner "angel wings" (Pleurocybella porrigens), also edible but bland and not as tasty. Pleurotus ostreatus, equally excellent and nearly identical, is found in the east and California but not in the Northwest.