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The Cryptogams Gallery

Fungus - Jelly Mushroom

Mushrooms and molds are fungus.  A fungus is not a true plant.  It does not photosynthesize light into a food source.  The structures we see and call mushrooms are the reproductive parts of a fungus that lives underground or under bark.

Division Basidiomycota     Family Auriculariaceae

Probably   Jelly Ear Auricularia auricula-judae

Delicately folded geletain strips, 6" long.  When it dries it becomes nearly black and rehydrates after a rain or after winter.   The inside is smooth, the outside has tiny white hairs.  This plant often takes on the look of an ear.  It was growing on a shaded pecan log.  Edible.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, July 2007

(Native)