“Golden oyster mushrooms, with their sunny yellow caps and nutty flavor, have become wildly popular for being healthy, delicious and easy to grow at home from mushroom kits.

But this food craze has also unleashed an invasive species into the wild, and new research shows it’s pushing out native fungi.

In a study we believe is the first of its kind, fellow mycologists and I demonstrate that an invasive fungus can cause environmental harm, just as invasive plants and animals can when they take over ecosystems.”

Read the full article by Aishwarya Veerabahu in The Conversation, July 16, 2025

Aishwarya received a Leopold Research Fellowship from the Arboretum, a two-year award that supports research in areas related to the Arboretum’s mission. She is grateful to everyone who contributed sightings to community science projects, which were invaluable to the research.

(Please note that foraging is not allowed at the Arboretum. Collecting requires a research permit.)

More media

A mushroom that escaped from kitchens could be harming North American wildlife, by Erik Stokstad, Science, July 16, 2025

This golden fungus is spreading wildly in North America’s forests, by Jacey Fortin, New York Times, July 16, 2025

The dark side of the golden oyster mushroom’s invasion of North America, All Things Considered interview, National Public Radio, July 23, 2025