Today, we’ll begin by dissecting the scientific name for Oyster Mushrooms, “Pleurotus ostreatus”. The genus was described by German Mycologist Paul Kimmer in his 1871 work “Der Führer in die Pilzkunde”. Before this, Oyster Mushrooms were classified as Agaricus ostreatus in the late 1700s.

Etymology Of “Pluerotus ostreatus”

Kimmer, named the genus Pleurotus from the Ancient Greek words “pleurá” meaning side, and the stem “oto” which refers to ears. Essentially, it means “side ear”, likely referring to its often semi-circular shape and its growth from the side trunks/logs. It also makes sense since many common names have historically associated oyster mushrooms with ears. We’ll discuss some of these later.

The specific epithet (the technical name for the second part of the scientific name predates the genus name and refers to the latin word “Ostrea” which means Oyster. This name refers to the shape of the mushroom, which with little imagination looks the shape of an Oysters Shell. Indeed, some historic common names such as the french ‘agario en conque’ reflect that the mushroom was shell like. I was unable to find the existence of a shell or oyster related name that predates the scientific name, but its highly possible “ostreatus” was extrapolated from an existing European common name. 

A Look Into Historic Common Names From “Historia Fungorum Regni Neapolitani”

“Historia Fungorum Regni Neapolitani” was an early mycology text written in the late 18th century. Its name translates to History of the Fungi of the Neapolitan Kingdom. The Neapolitan Kingdom was a state that ruled the most southern part of the Italian peninsula between 1282 and 1816.  It was released in 1848 decades after the death of the author, Vincenzo Briganti,  by his son after the Neapolitan Kingdom had already been abolished. 

In the text he has this to say about ¨Oyster Mushrooms¨

“ Agaricus ostreatus is commonly found in rainy autumn and winter, occasionally appearing in spring. It inhabits decaying tree trunks, especially those of walnut, poplar, willow, mulberry, and birch. Fresh or dried, it is deservedly welcomed in kitchens. Neapolitan vendors call it ‘ricchione,’ while in the countryside of the Citerior Principality, it is referred to as ‘fungo’ or ‘frenga de noce,’ by the Etruscans as ‘gelone,’ ‘cardela,’ or ‘cerrena,’ and commonly known as ‘ciaccer,’ ‘carnetta,’ ‘bortolan,’ ‘orgel,’ etc. The French call it ‘agario en conque,’ ‘oreille de nouret,’ or ‘noiret,’ and the Germans finally ‘der drehling… History, Cultivation, and Use: For several years now, this species has been highly appreciated for its taste and obtained artfully from a mixture of soil and the juice of bay laurel berries in various regions of Italy. But as asserted by Carolus Clusius, in ancient times, the same product was abundantly obtained from the decay of the trunks of the aforementioned trees, if slightly covered with soil or even buried in straw and left to rot. This is highly consistent with what some authors have written about Agaricus Aegyptius. Another species, indeed, exists which, under the same vernacular name “chione,” has not yet provided me the opportunity to see it, belongs to our highly esteemed PORTA, a distinguished man of great knowledge in matters of Nature. For it is described as large, entirely white, and highly fragrant by him. In the author’s own words: “It is also a very fragrant white fungus, scarcely embracing the palm and fingers of both hands when separated, so sweet to the taste that it can be eaten raw. It is offered to the sick harmlessly, they call it ‘colae richione,’ as if you were to say a large twin of mushrooms.” Source: Historia Fungorum Regni Neapolitani (Latin to English Translated Digitally)

Before dissecting the information about common names discussed in the quote, I just want to point out the mention of historic cultivation techniques. These sorts of passive cultivation methods were likely the first techniques used for mushroom cultivation. By carefully manipulating the logs of trees that form special associations with specific mushrooms, you could in essence, promote the growth fro specific species. This was done in Japan with the native hosts of Shiitake, in Europe with Oysters, and I´ve even heard of similar approaches with the ¨Hongo de Casahuate¨ (Pleurotus djamor sensu latu) here in Mexico. Investigating these initial attempts at early mushroom cultivation is another literary side-project of mine.

Anyhow, in the text he mentions various other common names. Let´s look into them. 

• Ricchione: This name is likely related to a Neapolitan term “recchia” which means “ear” in the Neapolitan dialect.
  
• Fungo: This is somewhat obvious and related to “fungi”. Today, in Italy, fungi is used as a generic name for any mushroom. Curiously, they would use ¨Fungo¨ for a single species.
  
• Frenga de Noce: Noce in Italian today is still used for Walnuts, and “de noce” likely suggests this mushroom was common on Walnuts in this region. I´ve looked into the etymology of ¨Frenga¨ but couldn´t find anything. It seems like at some point it was used to describe an epidermal disease, so perhaps they considered it a disease on the walnut.
  
• Gelone: This name is still used in northern Italy and is associated with its growth during cold temperatures. The root word ¨Gelo¨ means frost, cold, or ice. (Think Gelato)
  
• Orgel: I´m going a bit on a whim with this one, but I think it could be related to the French word ¨oreille¨ which means ear. It’s likely from a distinct dialect.
  
• Carnetta: Apparently this name is still used in Lombardy, Italy. Etymology isn´t clear, but could be related to ¨carne¨ which means meat.
  
• Agario En Conque: This is French for ¨Agaric in the form of Conk¨. Agaric was a generic name for gilled mushrooms, and conk likely refers to the shell-like shape.
  
• Oreille de Nouret: Oreille means ear and Nouret may come from a distinct dialect and signifies Walnut. 

Common Names Around The World

Language	Common Name
English	Oyster Mushroom
Spanish (Spain)	Gírgola, Seta de Ostra (Oyster Mushroom), Champiñón Ostra (Oyster Mushroom), and Pleuroto Ostra (Oyster Pleurote)
Mandarin	名秀珍菇、側耳、糙皮側耳、蠔菇 (Oyster Mushroom)、黑牡丹菇 (Black Peony Mushroom)、北風菌 (North Wind Mushroom)、鮑魚菇或 (Abalone Mushroom), and 天喜菇 (Tianxi Mushroom)
French	Pleurote en (forme d’) huître (Pleurote in the form of Oyster)
German	Austern-Seitling (Oyster Mushroom) and Austernpilz (Oyster Mushroom)
Russian	Вёшенка обыкновенная (common tree mushroom), Вёшенка устричная (oyster tree mushroom), Устричный гриб  and (oyster mushroom)
Indonesian	Jamur tiram (Oyster Mushroom)
Vietnamese	Nấm sò (Oyster mushroom), Nấm bào ngư (Clam mushroom)
Slovak	chrastavka (cartilage), bukovo hliva (beech oyster-like), (little cool fungus), pešterec (forest dweller)
Polish	Boczniak ostrygowaty (Oyster mushroom)
Spanish (Mexico)	Seta (Mushroom), Hongo de Casahuate (Mushroom of the Casahuate)
Spanish (Columbia)	Orellana (Ear-related, translation unclear)
Catalan	Auriana (Ear-related, translation unclear), Orellana (Ear-related, translation unclear), Pollancro (unclear), gírgola (gargoyle)
Portuegese	Cogumelo-ostra (Oyster Mushroom)
Czech	Hlíva ústřičná (Oyster-like Mushroom)

Why Are They Called Oyster Mushrooms?

They are known as Oyster Mushrooms because of the “shell-like” shape of the mushroom. This is the origin of its scientific name “ostreatus”. 

Conclusion

Ears and Oysters (or shell-like names) tend to be the common theme for the names of Oyster Mushrooms. Other themes include their strong relationships to be found on Walnut Trees and its relationship to cool weather. Feel free to share other common names you’ve heard in the comments. Any corrections, thoughts, ideas are welcome aswell! Thanks for reading.