Pink Oyster Mushroom

Overview

Pleurotus salmoneostramineus is native to the tropics, specifically Indonesia, and have been growing wild since ancient times. They were first discovered in the late 17th century by a German-born botanist named Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The original scientific name for these Pink Oyster mushrooms was Agaricus djamor, which was officially recognized in 1821, but the mushrooms were then transferred to the genus Pleurotus in 1959 by botanist Karel Bernard Boedijn who published several papers on Indonesian fungi. Botanically classified as Pleurotus djamor, and also known as the Salmon oyster, Flamingo oyster, and the Strawberry oyster, Pink Flamingo oyster mushrooms. Today Pink oyster mushrooms can be found at local markets and are cultivated in warm, tropical climates around the world including Mexico, the United States, Brazil, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and New Ginea. These mushrooms contain high nutritional as well as medicinal value. It contains fiber, potassium, copper, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate and ergothioneine, which is an antioxidant that may reduce instances of cardiovascular disease by helping to prevent plaque build-up in the arteries.  

Vernacular Names

Takiiro hiratake (Japanese), Oreja de Patancán (Mexican).

Agroecology

Grows on hardwood trees, straw, sawdust, wood, paper, and hay. Can be grown year-round indoors or intercropped with greenhouse plant production in tropical climates and can fruit in as little as 7-10 days at temperatures around 29-30 °C, with humidity 60-80%. The water content in the growth media is very influential on the growth of mycelium and the development of fruiting bodies. It requires a substrate with a water content of < 75%.  For that, it is enough if the media plastic bag is plugged using cotton or tissue that is folded. While the humidity for fruit formation ranges from 80-90%. The optimal level of acidity or pH for the growth of oyster mushroom mycelium is 6-7 and can be adjusted with the addition of lime which states that oyster mushrooms live in alternating dark and light periods. It does not require light, even mycelium will grow well in dark conditions. But for the growth of the mushroom fruiting body requires light to grow. Even a lack of light will reduce the size of the fruit and the colour will turn to pale.

Morphology

• Cap - shell-shaped, spreading, pink to beige. the gills are pink, measuring diameter 5-15 cm, has a slippery surface, slightly oily when in humid conditions. The edges of the hood are wavy, the flesh of the fruit when it is old has a tough and tough texture. The fruit body of is thinner than that of the white oyster mushroom. The lower surface of the fruit cap lamella is layered like gills and is soft, insulated. In the lamellae septum there are millions of spores, macroscopic 5.5-8.5 x 1-6.6 microns, and smooth in texture. and are attached to short or non-existent stems, growing in layered clusters. The thin caps are smooth, finely lined, and are intensely pink when raw, changing to an orange-brown when cooked. The edges of the cap also begin flat and curl with age, almost curling into a tube shape. Underneath the cap, there are many soft, short, deep pink gills that connect down into stem. 
• Stem - short, off to the side, pink, measuring about 2-6 cm long depending on environmental and climatic conditions.
• Spore - white or pink.

Cultivation

• Fungi reproduce sexually and asexually.
• Sexual reproduction in the fungi consists of three sequential stages: plasmogamy, karyogamy, and  meiosis.
• Asexual reproduction is by fragmentation of hyphae and spores (conidia, oidia, clamydospores, and arthrospores), cell division (fission), somatic cell budding (budding), and spore formation.

Chemical Constituents

Phenols, flavonoids, fatty acids, lignin, ergothioneine, and tannins.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• It is used in the treatment of diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.
• It inhibits the growth of tumor and cancer.
• Studies have shown anti-tumor, anti-cancer, antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant properties.