Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Medium

Diet

Decomposer

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

East Asia

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Defense

Warning colors

Status

Uncommon

About

A cluster fungus with vivid golden-yellow, fan-shaped caps that grows in shelf-like tiers on dead hardwood. Native to East Asia, it's now widely cultivated and has also become an invasive escapee on trees across parts of North America.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   spore

   A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2. 2.
   mycelium

   A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3. 3.
   fruiting body

   A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Fungi

Phylum

Basidiomycota

Class

Agaricomycetes

Order

Agaricales

Family

Pleurotaceae

Genus

Pleurotus

Species

Pleurotus citrinopileatus