Auricularia mesenterica

Description

Auricularia mesenterica is an edible species of fungus in the family Auriculariaceae. The species forms scaffold-like fruiting bodies that initially appear pale, rubbery, and button-like. It often fuses into composite structures, sometimes extending over a meter along fallen tree trunks and branches. The upper surface is gray to brown, felt to hispid with concentric zones, while the lower surface is thick gelatinous, irregularly radially folded, wavy and putty, and reddish-brown.

This species is considered a cosmopolitan species and grows on many different species of angiosperm wood, such as poplar, elm, and ash, typically from summer to fall. It is a common species in Europe, but rare in the Americas and China.

Before the fruit body fully matures and hardens, young specimens are edible, but in some local populations, these fungi tend to bioaccumulate high levels of heavy metals from their environment.

Common names: Tripe Fungus, Boltcovitka mozkovitá (Czech Republic), Viltig Judasoor (Netherlands), Gezonter Ohrlappenpilz (German), France: Auriculaire poilu, Oreille mésentérique, Oreille poilue.

Mushroom Identification

1. Fruiting Bodies

   4-15 cm long, 2-10 cm wide, partially spread out, and separated in the form of lateral caps. Caps are 2-15 cm in diameter, semi-round, irregular in shape. The upper surface is covered with concentrically furrowed, gray or brown hairs that alternately form a concentric-zonal pattern, lighter, light gray, gray-brownish, and brown near the edges. With age, the surface often turns green.

2. Gills

   The hymenophore is smooth, wrinkled, or folded, waxy, gray-purple, and purple-brown. Located on the lower surface of the caps and the surface of the extended parts of the fruit body.

3. Flesh

   The flesh is soft, fleshy, gelatinous-cartilaginous, elastic, hard when dry, brittle, without a distinct smell.

4. Spores

   13-17 (20) * 4.5-7 μm, cylindrical, bent.

5. Spore Print

   White.

6. Habitat

   Grows from the beginning of spring until the very frosts (in a warm winter - throughout the winter), on fallen trunks and stumps of deciduous trees, mainly beech, elm, birch, maple, ash, poplar, aspen, and others, in crowded groups. Fruiting bodies usually grow densely next to each other and bag-like on top of each other. They can grow together in strips of several meters. Causes white rot in wood.

Look-Alikes

1. Auricularia auricula-judae

   Similar in appearance but have a different color of the fruit bodies.

2. Trametes hirsuta

   Gelatinous fruiting bodies with a hairy upper side of the A. mesenteric are unmistakable, but when viewed from above they may resemble T. hirsuta.

History

Auricularia mesenterica was described by James Dickson as Helvella mesenterica in 1785, and transferred to the genus Auricularia by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1822.

The specific epithet is a Latin adjective formed from the Ancient Greek word μεσεντεριον (mesenterion), "middle intestine", from μεσο- (meso-, "middle, center") and εντερον (enteron, "intestine"), referring to its shape.

Synonyms and Varieties

• Helvella mesenterica Dicks. 1785

• Auricularia corrugata Sowerby 1800

• Auricularia lobata Sommerf.

• Auricularia pusio Berk.

• Auricularia tremelloides Bull. 1787

• Dacrymyces violacea (Relhan) Fr.

• Exidia lobata Sommerf. 1827

• Gyraria violacea (Relhan) Gray

• Helvella corrugata With. 1776

• Helvella mesenterica Dicks. 1785

• Merulioporia violacea (Relhan) Bondartsev

• Meruliopsis violacea (Relhan) Bondartsev

• Merulius mesentericus (Dicks.) Schrad. 1794

• Patila mesenterica (Dicks.) Kuntze 1891

• Phlebia mesenterica (Dicks.) Fr. 1828

• Stereum mesentericum (Pers.) Gray 1821

• Thaelaephora mesenterica J.F. Gmel. 1792

• Thelephora mesenterica J.F. Gmel.

• Thelephora tremelloides (Bull.) Lam. & DC. 1826

• Tremella corrugata Schwein. 1832

• Tremella violacea Relhan 1785

• Auricularia mesenterica var. mesenterica (Dicks.) Pers.

• Auricularia mesenterica var. pusio (Berk.) Bres.

• Auricularia tremelloides var. fusca Bull.

• Auricularia tremelloides var. subcaerulea Bull.

• Auricularia tremelloides var. tremelloides Bull.

• Auricularia tremelloides var. violacea Bull.

• Exidia gemmata f. violacea (Relhan) Neuhoff

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: dschigel (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Natalya (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Michel Langeveld (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Michel Langeveld (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 5 - Author: bjoerns (CC BY-SA 4.0)