Native to eastern Russia, northern China, and Japan, the golden oyster mushroom is very closely related to P. cornucopiae of Europe, with some authors considering them to be at the rank of subspecies.

[3] The fruiting bodies of P. citrinopileatus grow in clusters of bright yellow to golden brown caps with a velvety, dry surface texture.

Naturalized golden oysters have been found in many states including: Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

[4] The study also found highly similar wild isolates collected from geographically distant locations, in some cases over 800 miles (1,300 km) apart.

This is strong evidence to suggest that the same cultivated strain has been re-introduced many times over in various parts of the United States, as opposed to a single introduction event and subsequent spread.