Fungi Foray

DACRYMYCETACEAE

Common Jellyspot

Dacrymyces stilatus

Found on damp and decaying wood. The fruiting bodies are normally orange and 2-5mm across. They dry out with maturity becoming darker and marginally tougher.

EXIDIACEAE

Witches' Butter

Exidia glandulosa

Grows on deciduous deadwood late in the year. Fruiting bodies attach to the wood using tiny stems. After prolonged wet weather they become plump and fleshy.

EXIDIACEAE

Warlock's Butter

Exidia nigricans

Sometimes mistaken for Exidia glandulosa, however this has brain-like folds instead of being comprised of blocks with flattish sides. Found on deciduous trees such as ash, beech and hazel, but not as much on oak. Previously known as Exidia plana.

EXIDIACEAE

White Brain

Exidia thuretiana

Found on rotten hardwood, particularly beech, during autumn and winter. In dry weather the fruiting bodies shrink becoming hard and leaving just a transparent rubbery spot on the host wood.

TREMELLACEAE

Leafy Brain

Tremella foliacea

Found on deciduous dead wood where it feeds on the wood-rotting fungus Hairy Curtain Crust Stereum hirsutum.

TREMELLACEAE

Yellow Brain

Tremella mesenterica

The bright-yellow fruiting bodies mainly appears during autumn and winter on fallen deciduous branches. They turn hard and orange when dried out.

ARICULARIACEAE

Jelly Ear

Auricularia aricula-judae

On deciduous tree trunks and branches all year round, especially Elder during autumn and winter. Initially very soft with a velvet-like texture, becoming smoother with age.

ARICULARIACEAE

Tripe Fungus

Auricularia mesenterica

Mainly seen on dead elm wood during summer and autumn. A common sight after Dutch elm disease, but now less common due to the disappearance of many elm trees. It has a preference for damp shaded locations.