dehydrated - black witches' butter

Description:

Scientific name: Exidia glandulosa Bulliard:Fries Derivation of name: Glandul- means "gland" and -osa means "an abundance of." Glandulosa refers to the glands on the surface of the basidiocarp. Synonyms: Common name(s): Black jelly roll. Phylum: Basidiomycota Order: Tremellales Family: Exidiaceae Occurrence on wood substrate: Saprobic; forming irregular masses on decaying deciduous wood; May through November. Dimensions: Individual fruit bodies are 1-2 cm wide and up to 1.3 cm high. Extensive masses of fused fruitbodies may be 18 cm or more long. Description: Brainlike to irregularly contorted gelatinous fruitbodies, fusing together to form large masses; blackish- brown to olive-brown or black; surface shiny with numerous small black-brown glandular dots. Edibility: Inedible. Comments: Upon drying, Exidia glandulosa becomes a thin, black-dotted crust. It can rehydrate to look like a fresh specimen ( http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wo... )

Habitat:

location: North America, Europe edibility: Inedible fungus colour: Black or blackish normal size: Less than 5cm cap type: Other stem type: Lateral, rudimentary or absent flesh: Mushroom slimy or sticky spore colour: White, cream or yellowish habitat: Grows on wood Exidia glandulosa Fr. Black Jelly Roll, Witches’ Butter, Warziger Drüsling, Hexenbutter, Exidie glanduleuse, Kormos mirigygomba, Boszorkányvaj. Fruit body 2–6cm across, gelatinous, pendulous, disc-shaped at first and bearing tiny scattered warts, often becoming fused with adjacent fruit bodies, upper surface felty, black. Spores white, sausage-shaped, 10–16 x 4–5µ. Basidia resembling hot cross buns when viewed from above. Habitat on dead wood of deciduous trees; sometimes on dead parts of living trees. Season all year. Frequent. Not edible. Distribution, America and Europe. ( http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/D... )

Notes:

-----Other Names = Black Faery/Fairy Butter, Black Jelly Fungus, Black Jelly Roll, Warty Jelly, Devil's Butter, Troll-Smor. -----Description =One could not say with a straight face that Black Witches Butter is a pretty fungus, and I have come across a few that are very reminiscent of poop. But physical beauty is certainly not everything! -----Black Witches Butter is a jelly fungus, just like the similarly named Gold Witches Butter. It is anywhere from a greenish brown to almost black in colour, and comes in masses up to 30 cm in diameter. Although generally jelly-like, when in very dry weather, it becomes crusty and can sometimes look like a completely different fungus. It can be found in North America and in many places in Europe. -----Warnings: = As with all herbs/fungi, one should make sure to be thoroughly informed before ingesting them, and is best to do so under the guidance of a qualified healer. I have not ingested it myself, so I am certainly not qualified to say if Black Witches Butter is edible or not. There also seems to be quite a wide disagreement on its edibility, so with that said, it is probably best to err on the side of caution. -----Cultivating = Black Witches Butter is a fairly common sight in hard and mixed wood forests, most often seen in cooler regions. It is generally found on recently fallen hardwood branches, especially on those that once belong to an oak, birch, and alder tree. The fruits are seen in Spring and Autumn, and sometimes during a cool period in Summer and a warm one in Winter. -----Medicinal/Remedial Properties and Lore: =In Asia, many different jelly fungi have been used for their healing properties for hundreds of years. They are most coveted for being immune boosters, and to help with health conditions effecting circulation and breathing. +According to The Hiker's Notebook, jelly fungi have been found to: =...reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol and are useful in the treatment of allergies and diabetes. +--The Hiker's Notebook goes on to say: =A group of Israeli and Ukrainian researchers evaluated fungi of the Tremella genus in 2000 and confirmed that they exhibited antitumor properties and that they could be used to "improve immunodeficiency … and to prevent senile degeneration of microvessels." -----A local Wise Woman {Anishnawbek} told me that historically her people have used Black Witches Butter to treat colds and flu, asthma, and given as a tonic for folks who tend to be sickly. -----Magical Properties and Lore: = In Popular Names of British Plants by Dr. R.C. Alexander Prior, it got its name from: +its buttery appearance, and unaccountably rapid growth in the night, which has given rise to a superstitious belief, still prevalent in Sweden, that witches milk the cows,and scatter about the butter on the ground. +--The authors of English Botany give credit Johann Jacob Dillenius for inspiring the name, because according to him, Black Witches Butter was thrown on a pyre to counteract malignant witchcraft. +--I have personally used it in this manner for banishing magic, and have found it quite effective. I have some in my possession and will be using it for this purpose again soon. ---The Wise Woman that I had previously mentioned earlier also says that to her Black Witches Butter represents the blood and sweat that came with the labours of her Ancestors {i.e. hunting, gathering fire wood and medicines}, and as such, is an appropriate ally to use to connect with local land spirits and the Ancestors of the Native peoples in this area. ---Other Uses: =None really that I know of, although it could be perhaps used in a prank to mimic poop! ;) ( http://nefaeriaofetsy.blogspot.com/2009/... )--> i (real I) found this discription entertaining!