Auricularia.
Fungi > Basidiomycota > Class Agaricomycetes > Order Auriculariales > Family Auriculariaceae.
The about 50 species are probably all saprophytic on dead wood.
Fruit bodies may be solitary but are usually in groups.
With no stalk they are attached to the wood at their side or their back.
The tough, gelatinous bodies are usually cup or ear shaped but may sometimes be lobed.
The upper surface is red-brown and often has tiny greyish hairs.
There may be folds or wrinkles in the upper surface.
The lower spore-bearing surface is paler and may be smooth or slightly wrinkled.
The reddishh-brown or grey surface is usually slightly translucent.
Spores are white.
A few species have flattish fruit bodies like a crust fungus or are club-shaped.
Some are cultivated for food.
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Auricularia auricula-judae.
Division Basidiomycota>Class Agaricomycetes > Order Auriculariales > Family Auriculariaceae.
The Jelly ear fungus.
They are a mushroom that grows on dead wood.
The gelatinous fruit body is up to 8 or 9 cm across and only a few mms thick.
Their side is directly attached to the substrate but occasionally they have a short stalk.
The fruit body can be cup-shaped but is normally convoluted.
Its red-brown colour darkens with age to a deep purple-brown.
It is somewhat translucent.
The originally smooth outer surface becomes dull as it ages.
It is covered with tiny grey hairs.
The paler inner spore bearing surface is smooth and shiny.
The spore print is white.
J.F.
