Auricularia auricula-judae

20 January 2008 Buckinghamshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin

Species

Common Name

Jew's Ear, Wood Ear, Jelly Ear

Fruiting Body

Ear shaped, attached to the substrate by one edge, upper surface finely downy, lower surface smooth, pinkish brown, to about 8 cm across

Flesh

Purple-brown, gelatinous, tough, becoming hard when dry

Smell

Indistinct

Taste

Indistinct

Season

All year

Distribution

Very common

Habitat

On wood from deciduous trees and shrubs, favouring Elder

Spore Print

White

Microscopic Features

Spores sausage shaped (16-18) x (6-8) µm²

Edibility

Edible, and considered in the West to have little value. It is widely used in Chinese cooking, in dishes such as hot and sour soup, where thin strips of the fungus add an interesting texture

Notes

The common name is a corruption of Judas's ear, as the apostle Judas is said to have hung himself from an Elder tree

Additional Photographs

20 January 2008 Buckinghamshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin