Auricularia auricula-judae
Jelly ear
Names
Scientific: Auricularia auricula-judae
Common: Jelly ear
Other scientific names: Tremella auricula-judae, Exidia auricula-judae, Hirneola auricula-judae, Tremella auricula, Hirneola auricula, Auricularia auricula, Gyraria auricularis, Auricularia auricula-judae var. lactea, Hirneola auricula-judae var. lactea - NB the latter two refer to an unpigmented form, otherwise not distinct)
Description
The pinkish, firmly gelatinous, ear-shaped fruit bodies of this fungus are probably familiar to all of us, often first introduced as one of the edible species: opinions vary as to how rewarding that experience might be! This was one of only three fungi that Gerard included in his Herbal published in 1633 - it was recommended boiled in milk or steeped in beer to help soothe sore throats.
This species is a member of the diverse group of fungi the 'jelly fungi' (for their highly gelatinised flesh) and is one of the heterobasidiomycetes - a group with segmented or strangely shaped basidia. In the genus Auricularia, the basidia are cylindrical structures with three cross walls and what are called epibasidia growing from the sides and supporting the spores. Well worth trying to find one of these, although any of you who have tried to work with jelly fungi will know about the joys of trying to keep the specimen under the cover slip when squashing!
Like many of the jelly fungi, this species shrivels up in dry weather, so you are much more likely to spot some on a cool, damp day. Amazingly, many of these fungi, including Auricularia are able to rehydrate and then continue to release spores. Individual fruit bodies can thus last for many months coming and going with the rain.
More information about some of these terms and fungal lifestyles.
Auricularia auricula-judae (Jelly Ear)
Fruiting:
Auricularia auricula-judae has been found in every month of the year in Scotland. Interestingly if you look at the months that it has been recorded in for England and Wales there are two distinct peaks - in April and May and again in September, October and November. In Scotland, the autumn fruiting peak is less obvious with elevated occurrence in September and October and most records evenly spread from January until May.
Habitat:
Auricularia is a genus of wood rotting species, possibly weakly parasitic, usually found in damp broadleaved woodlands with plenty of dead wood. A. auricula-judae fruits on deciduous trees and shrubs and exhibits a particular preference for elder (Sambucus nigra). It is this latter preference that lead to its naming - the ear reference 'auricula' is obvious from the shape of the fruiting structure but 'judae' has arisen from the story that Judus Iscariot hung himself from an elder tree, after his betrayal of Jesus Christ. For many years this lead to the common name of 'Jew's Ear' which the English Name project was unhappy with. Although I personally think that 'Judas Ear' would have avoided any unwanted overtones without loss of the story, Jelly Ear was the name finally recommended.
There has been interest recently in the possibility that climate change is involved in an apparent broadening of host preference by this fungus and so if you are recording, do pay attention to what species of tree or shrub it is fruiting on.
Distribution:
The Checklist gives the distribution of A. auricula-judae as ‘common’ throughout with over 9000 records from the UK (FRDBI 2014). Scotland however only boasts 316 records and a glance at the NBN Atlas Scotland map gives you an idea of how patchily distributed it is in Scotland. Is this a more southern species or are we just missing it?
Please remember to submit your records to your local recording group or via the Scottish Fungi online recording form.
Liz Holden, 2014