At least one species within this genus, Ostrea lurida, has been recovered in archaeological excavations along the Central California coast of the Pacific Ocean, demonstrating it was a marine taxon exploited by the Native American Chumash people as a food source.
Ostreola may also be used to refer to also a genus of oyster in the family Ostreidae; however, this name is unaccepted and Ostrea should be used instead.
Other marine fossils are Hemicidaris purbeckensis and Ostrea distonta, the latter being abundant in the Cinder bed of the Middle Purbeck.
The crude culture filtrate and methanol extracts from S. ostrea were examined to determine the antibacterial activity of the fungus against bacteria like Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus species.