It rained and a few fungi came back! These jelly fungi came to life again after a couple of rainy days. The last few summers and falls were dry, and fungi were scarce. I didn’t realize that the first time I wrote about fungi was an unusual year. It was really wet that year, and fungi were abundant.  I was so lucky to spot so many that year.

Jelly fungi get their names because they look like jelly. They appear rubbery and gelatinous. I’m not sure how they feel, because I don’t know enough about fungi or mushrooms to be confident enough to touch them. Supposedly most of these are not poisonous. The jelly fungi shrivel up when it is dry, then come back to life with rain. Some do this several times. These were shriveled up just a couple of weeks ago. The brown ones in these photos have been there a while. Probably several years.

Let’s get technical: Jelly Fungi

I struggled to find conclusive information about jelly fungi. After searching several websites, I figured out why.  These fungi belong to the phylum Basidiomycota. Basidiomycetes are referred commonly as jelly fungi because the basidiocarp, or the part that is visible, looks like jelly. There are so many orders and families under the phylum that I would be foolish to begin to note any of them. This reinforces why it is such a complicated and diverse group of fungi. They are very difficult to identify correctly. Because of the diversity, they usually are identified with a microscope.

How do they survive?

These fungi are saprobic. Most survive by decomposing dead or decaying organic material and using it for food. Therefore, if you see them on your tree, it is a sign that the wood in that area is dead or decaying. Presence of these types of fungi, and others, are one of many ways we use to determine what dead wood to remove.

 

 

References:

References were hard to find. Unfortunately, many contained conflicting information. I tried to keep this post general. I’m clearly not an expert on fungi. It’s a very complicated world.

First, if you want to know technical information about the orders that I listed, look here.

Second, I believe that the Mushroom Expert provided the great information about jelly fungi.  The information he provides reinforces how complicated fungi are.

Finally, Robert Bandoni wrote an excellent introductory article on this type of fungi. Be prepared, it seemed more than introductory to me.