Oyster

Yeah, well mushrooms are essentially made up of mycelium that just grows into a specific shape (morphology). In fact if you put a fresh mushroom in a blender each of the many tiny particles of mushroom you have created have the potential to replicate the whole organism all over again, if left in an environment which that fungus favours. Providing of course that your chosen speck of mushroom still contains some living cells. You can see larger chunks of mushroom sprouting fuzzy mycelium when left in damp conditions and it is one method used to cultivate mushrooms. It is in fact quicker than using spores as you skip germination. Personally I don't know about the specific tendencies of individual mushroom species to show mycelial shoots above the growth medium, but it seems entirely possible that this is what we are seeing. Perhaps the fungus is seeking new food and water in a bid for survival, it certainly doesn't look too healthy... Perhaps...

Yeah I wondered if that's what it was. I have no personal experience with wild Pleurotus sp. so I'm not really sure. I did a little searching though and found Pleurotus dryinus which could be a possibility, but I'm not entirely convinced: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/images/kuo2/pleurotus_dryinus_02.jpg http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pleurotus_dryinus.html There's also this which looks close: http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/17509731 The expert consensus seemed to be Pleurotus but Panus was also suggested, here's another Panus conchatus: http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0110+1498 Then there's this spotting which is apparently Pleurotus: http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/fungi-forums/105539-unknown-fungi-identity-hairy-stem.html And this page claims that Pleurotus have hairy stems... http://www.fungikingdom.net/mycology-education/name-that-genus/19.html But of course there's also Lentinus Levi: http://mycomagnet.com/picview.php?pid=2754 And probably plenty more Pleurotoid fungi to check out... http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pleurotoid.html I don't know, you can draw your own conclusions! :-)

I think you were correct with Pleurotus, what makes you unsure?