The pink oyster mushroom has a pink color, though there are also white forms.[2] It has a fan-shaped, broadly convex to plane cap which is 2– 5 cm broad and 3-7 cm long, with an inrolled margin.[3] The gills range from light pink to cream, and are 0.5-0.7 μm in width. The stem is white with matted hairs and is very short or non existent.[4] The flavor of the pink oyster mushroom has been described as meaty and fishy. Just like most mushrooms, it is quite umami. Its texture is both meaty and chewy. When fried until crispy, it resembles bacon or even ham. However, when it is raw, it has a sour taste. The reason why it is very rare to find in supermarkets is that it has a shelf life of only about a day. Since it is only harvested from spring to fall, it is only available during that time.[5] Microscopic characteristics The spore print is pink, and the spores are inamyloid and ellipsoid. They measure 7-8 ×3-4.5 μm.The basidia measure 24.93-25.26 x 6.7-7.4 μm and have 4 spores each. The sterigmata are 1.5-1.75 μm in size. Clamp connections are present. [4] Ecology and distribution The pink oyster mushroom grows in tropical and subtropical areas, growing as far north as Japan and as far south as New Zealand.[2] In Hawai'i, pink oyster mushrooms often grow on fallen coconuts, and on the stalks of palm fronds, though they can also be found on fallen ōhiʻa branches in the forests of the Hawaiian island Kaua'i.[3]

L. sulphureus is one of the largest and most colorful fungi species that we know of. Chicken of the wood clusters can grow to 75 cm (30 in) across, featuring several shelf-like fruiting bodies ranging from a bright yellow or orange color to white. Chicken of the woods mushrooms are great examples of parasitic and saprobic species—meaning they can grow in living and dead hardwood trees. They are particularly fond of oak trees (Quercus genus) and usually fruit during summer and fall.

Cantharellus formosus, commonly known as the Pacific golden chanterelle, is a fungus native to the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is a member of the genus Cantharellus along with other popular edible chanterelles. It was distinguished from C. cibarius in the 1990s. It is orange to yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the underside of the smooth cap, it has gill-like ridges that run down onto its stipe, which tapers down from the cap. The false gills often have a pinkish hue. It has a mild, sweet odor. It appears solitary to gregarious in coniferous forests, from July to December. It is a choice edible mushroom and Oregon's state mushroom. Taxonomy E. J. H. Corner formally described C. formosus in 1966 from specimens collected on Vancouver Island in 1938.[1] Despite this publication, the name C. cibarius (a European species) continued to be used to refer to golden chanterelles in the Pacific Northwest. In 1997, Redhead et al. re-examined Corner's specimens, returned to the type locale, and collected new specimens, confirming the identity of C. formosus.[2] DNA analysis has since confirmed the species-level rank of C. formosus.[3] Description Fruiting bodies of C. formosus range from 2–15 cm (3⁄4–6 in) wide,[4] with cap colors varying depending on light levels and weather. In dry weather, the cap is medium orange yellow to light yellow brown, but wet weather may brighten the cap to brilliant to soft orange yellow. In low light conditions, caps may not develop the yellow pigmentation, resulting in salmon to rosy buff colors. The false gills may be yellow, salmon, buff, or even whitish depending on conditions, but are usually paler than the cap. The stem is colored similarly to the cap, and is either equal-width or tapering downwards. The spore print is a yellowish white color.[2]

Ganoderma lucidum, commonly known as the reishi, varnished conk, or ling chih,[2] is a red-colored species of Ganoderma with a limited distribution in Europe and parts of China, where it grows on decaying hardwood trees.[3] Wild populations have been found in the United States in California and Utah but were likely introduced anthropogenically and naturalized.[1] Taxonomy The history of the Ganoderma lucidum taxon is tied to the history of Ganoderma as a genus. Karsten first described the Ganoderma in 1881 and included only one species in the genus, G. lucidum (Curtis) Karst.[4] Previously, it was called Boletus lucidus Curtis (1781) and then Polyporus lucidus (Curtis) Fr. (1821).[4] Patouillard revised Karsten's genus Ganoderma to include all species with pigmented spores, adhering tubes and laccate-crusted cuticles, which resulted in a total of 48 species classified under the genus Ganoderma in his 1889 monograph.[5][6] Despite this recognition of additional species and subsequent discoveries of new Ganoderma species, such as 17 new North American species identified by Murrill North in 1902,[5][7] the taxonomy of Ganoderma species has remained chaotic, and the species name Ganoderma lucidum continues to be used for most Ganoderma species, including commonly misidentifying Ganoderma sichuanense (= Ganoderma lingzhi) (also known as reishi mushroom (Japan) or lingzhi/ling chih (China)), the sought-after red Ganoderma species used in traditional Asian medicine.[3] It is important to note that G. lucidum is not a synonym for G. sichuanense (nor G. lingzhi) and is not in the same clade: based on molecular phylogenetic analyses, G. lucidum is more closely related to North American species Ganoderma tsugae and Ganoderma oregonense than to G. sichuanense, whose sister taxa include Ganoderma curtisii and Ganoderma ravenelii.[1] These genetic analyses tested species concept hypotheses to determine how the Ganoderma taxa are related. One such study[8] found six major clades among the 29 samples studied. Samples labeled as G. lucidum were found in five of the six clades, showing the extent of the confusion around species identification. Another study[9] found similar results, and also showed that Ganoderma resinaceum from Europe and the North American sample wrongly labeled G. lucidum were sister taxa and were also more closely related to each other than the European G. lucidum. A 2015 phylogeny study revealed that the global diversity of the Ganoderma species included three supported major lineages.[10] These results agree with several of the earlier works focusing mostly on morphology, geography and host preference, but with evidence separating the European and North American taxa.[11] Etymology The scientific name, Ganoderma lucidum, uses the genus name, Ganoderma (derived from Greek ganos/γάνος 'brightness, sheen', hence 'shining' and derma/δέρμα 'skin') combined with lucidum from Latin lucidus 'light, bright, clear'.[12] Description The fruiting body almost always has a stipe present, which is tawny to russet colored and 1.5 times the diameter of the cap. Context tissue (sterile tissue inside the fruiting body between the pileus crust and the initiation of the tubes) is pink-buff to cinnamon-buff and corky, showing concentric growth zones and no resinous or melanoid deposits.[citation needed] The hymenium displays 4–5 pores per millimetre. Chlamydospores are absent. Basidiospores are 8.2–12.1 μm (average 10.7 μm) long and 4.8–8.9 μm (average 7.1 μm) wide, with a spore shape index of 66.2.[1] Distribution and habitat G. lucidum is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical rainforest regions in Asia, Africa, and America.[3][13][14] It has been used for the longest time in China, Vietnam, and India.[15][16] It is currently cultivated using intensive cultivation technology in Japan, Korea, China, and is starting to be cultivated in some Southeast Asian and South American countries.[17][18] In the southern region of Vietnam, G. lucidum can be seen growing on dầu lim trees on Phu Quoc Island.[19][20][21]