Jelly baby

Description:

Leotia lubrica produces fruit bodies which range from 1 to 6 centimetres (0.4 to 2.4 in) in height. Each body has a single fertile "head" measuring up to 1.2 cm (0.5 in) across, which is an olive-greenish ochre and gelatinous.To the touch, the surface of the head can be smooth, clammy or slimey.While in shape it is convex, the head is made up of irregular lobes and undulations, and the edge is rolled inward. The underside is paler in colour than the upper surface, and smooth. The head is attached to a central stalk, which ranges from 3 to 6 mm wide, though thinner toward the substrate.The stalk is typically cylindrical, but can be flattened, and occasionally has furrows.The colour is similar to that of the head, though more yellow, and the surface is covered in very small granules of a greenish colour.The flesh is gelatinous in the head, while the stalk is mostly hollow, but it can be filled with gel

Habitat:

Leotia lubrica favours damp deciduous woodland, but can also be found under hardwoods.Particular favoured habitats include path sides and underneath bracken,while favoured substrates include soil, moss and plant waste,where it feeds as a saprotroph. Fruit bodies are typically encountered from late summer to late autumn in Europe,and from late spring to autumn in North America, where it is the most common Leotia species.It has also been recorded in eastern Asia, in China and Tibet,as well as in New Zealand and Australia

Notes:

Spotted in a mix forest of oaks,eucalypthus and pine trees near my house