The oyster mushroom, or Pleurotus ostreatus, is a common edible mushroom. It was first cultivated in Germany as a subsistence measure during the Great War and is now grown commercially around the world for food. It is related to the similarly cultivated "king oyster mushroom". Oyster mushrooms can also be used industrially for mycoremediation purposes. The Oyster mushroom may be considered a medicinal mushroom since it contains statins such as lovastatin which work to reduce cholesterol.