Pleurotus is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, P. ostreatus. Species of Pleurotus may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonlycultivated edible mushrooms in the world. Pleurotus fungi have been used in mycoremediation of pollutants such as petroleum and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Oyster mushrooms are popular for cooking, torn up instead of sliced, especially in stir fry or saute, because they are consistently thin, and so will cook more evenly than uncut mushrooms of other types.