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Auricularia auricula-judae
The fruit body of A. auricula-judae is normally 3 to 8 centimetres (1.2 to 3.1 in) across, but can be as much as 12 centimetres (4.7 in). It is distinctively shaped, typically being reminiscent of a floppy ear, though the fruit bodies can also be cup-shaped. It is normally attached to the substrate by the back surface of the cup, though there can also be a rudimentary stem. The species has a tough, gelatinous, elastic texture when fresh, but it dries hard and brittle. The outer surface is a bright reddish-tan-brown with a purplish hint, often covered in tiny, downy hairs of a grey color. It can be smooth, as is typical of younger specimens, or undulating with folds and wrinkles. The color becomes darker with age.
Grows upon the wood of deciduous trees and shrubs.
Auricularia auricula-judae has been used as a medicinal mushroom by many herbalists. It was used as a poultice to treat inflammations of the eye, as well as a palliative for throat problems. The 16th-century herbalist John Gerard, writing in 1597, recommended A. auricula-judae for a very specific use; other fungi were used more generally. He recommends the preparation of a liquid extract by boiling the fruit bodies in milk, or else leaving them steeped in beer, which would then be sipped slowly in order to cure a sore throat.
Hello Jared, jelly ear has a much more substantial fruiting body, that is closer to opaque than this. Also it is usually found on much larger pieces of wood, whereas E. recisa is most often found, like here, on smaller fallen limbs.