judas ear,judas-ohr (ger.),Jew's ear, jelly ear,ear fungus,common ear fungus,Chinese Fungus,pig's ear,wood ear,black wood ear,tree ear,Kikurage,Sambuca (elder)

Description:

Fruiting Body: Wavy and irregular; typically ear-shaped; 2-15 cm; gathered together and attached at a central or lateral position; fertile surface (usually the "downward" one) gelatinous, tan to brown; sterile surface (usually the "upper" one) silky to downy, veined, irregular, brown; flesh thin, gelatinous-rubbery. Spore Print: White. ( http://www.mushroomexpert.com/auriculari... ),

Habitat:

location: North America, Europe edibility: Edible fungus colour: Brown normal size: 5-15cm cap type: Cup shaped stem type: Lateral, rudimentary or absent spore colour: White, cream or yellowish habitat: Grows on wood Auricularia auricula-judae St. Amans syn. Hirneola auricula-judae (St. Amans) Berk. syn. Auricularia auricula (Hook.)Underwood Judasohr, Oreille de Judas, Jelly Ear Fruit body 3–8cm across, ear-shaped, gelatinous when fresh drying hard and horny, outer surface tan-brown with minute greyish downy hairs, inner surface grey-brown, smooth, or often wrinkled and ear-like. Spores white, sausage-shaped, 16–18×6–8µ. Basidia elongated cylindric with three transverse septa. Habitat on branches of frondose trees, usually elder. Season all year, especially autumn. Very common. Edible. Distribution, America and Europe. ( http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/D... )

Notes:

The fungus is associated with Judas Iscariot because of the belief that he hanged himself on an elder tree after his betrayal of Jesus Christ. Folklore suggests that the ears are Judas's returned spirit, and are all that are left to remind us of his suicide. The common name of the fungus was originally Judas's ear, but this was later shortened to Judas ear and, in the late 19th century, shortened again to Jew's ear. Common names for the fungus which refer to Judas can be traced back to at least the end of the 16th century; for instance, in the 17th century, Thomas Browne wrote of the species: In Jews' ears something is conceived extraordinary from the name, which is in propriety but fungus sambucinus, or an excrescence about the roots of elder, and concerneth not the nation of the Jews, but Judas Iscariot, upon a conceit he hanged on this tree; and is become a famous medicine in quinsies, sore throats, and strangulations, ever since. While the term Jew's meat was a deprecatory term used for all fungi in the Middle Ages, the term is unrelated to the name Jew's ear. A further change of name to jelly ear was recommended in the List of Recommended Names for Fungi. The idea was rejected by mycologist Patrick Harding who considered it "to be the result of political correctness where it is not necessary", and who "will continue to call [the species] Jew's ear", explaining that, while anti-Semitism was commonplace in Britain, the name Jew's ear is in reference to Judas, who was a Jew. However, the name has been adopted in some recent field guides. Unrelated common names include the ear fungus, common ear fungus, the Chinese Fungus, the pig's ear, the wood ear, the black wood ear, the tree ear and Kikurage. The species was known as "fungus sambuca" among herbalists, in reference to Sambuca, the generic name for elder. ( wikipedia ) ---- The common name Judas's ear comes from the legend that Auricularia formed its ear-shaped fruiting bodies as a curse on the tree on which Judas hanged himself. If you don't remember your New Testament (or care about it), Judas was the apostle who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Obviously someone had an overactive imagination when seeing an ear on a tree and thinking of Judas. However the intriguing name has stuck, even with the normally stuffy taxonomists. In fact "Auricularia" means ear and the epithet "auricula-judae" means "the ear of Judas." Since the mushroom is particularly prevalent on menus in Oriental restaurants, more preferred names would be the "wood ear mushroom" or the "cloud ear mushroom," Some would consider other translations of the name perjorative, and hence I have not mentioned them here. Sometime the scientific name is listed as Hirneola auricula. It seems likely that Auricularia polytricha, cultivated for use in Oriental dishes, is a very close relative or even the same species. However, it certainly can be much larger and tends to grow in subtropical to tropical areas. It is easily available in dried form in almost every oriental food store, in specialty food markets, and even in many large grocery stores ( http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/... ), ( http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wo... ), ( http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Li... )