Tremellini is from tremo, to tremble. The whole plant is gelatinous, with the exception, occasionally, of the nucleus. The sporophores are large, simple or divided. Spicules elongated into threads. Berk.

The following genera are included:

• Tremella—Immarginate. Hymenium universal.
• Exidia—Margined. Hymenium superior.
• Hirneola—Cartilaginous, ear-shaped, attached by a point.

Tremella. Fr.

This plant is so called because the entire plant is gelatinous, tremulous, and without a definite margin, and also without nipple-like elevations.

Tremella lutescens. Fr.

Yellowish Tremella. Edible.

This is a small gelatinous cluster, tremulous, convoluted, in wavy folds, pallid, then yellowish, with its lobes crowded and entire. Quite common over the state. It is found on decaying limbs and stumps from July to winter. It dries during absence of rain but revives and becomes tremulous during wet weather. It is called lutescens because of its yellowish color.

Tremella mesenterica. Retz.

Mesenterica is from two Greek words meaning the mesentery. The plant varies in size and form, sometimes quite flat and thin but generally ascending and strongly lobed; plicated, and convoluted; gelatinous but firm; lobes short, smooth, covered with a frost-like bloom by the white spores at maturity. The spores are broadly elliptical. Common in the woods on decaying sticks and branches.

Tremella albida. Hud.

The Whitish Tremella. Edible.

Albida, whitish. This plant is very common in the woods about Chillicothe, and everywhere in the state where beech, sugar-maple, and hickory prevail.

It is whitish, becoming dingy-brown when dry; expanded, tough, undulated, even, more or less gyrose, pruinose. It breaks the bark and spreads in irregular and scalloped masses; when moist it has a gelatinous consistency, a soft and clammy touch, yielding like a mass of gelatine. Its spores are oblong, obtuse, curved, marked with tear-like spots, almost transparent, 12–14×4–5µ. The specimen represented in Figure 402 was found near Sandusky and photographed by Dr. Kellerman.

Tremella mycetophila. Pk.

Mycetophila is from two Greek words, mycetes, fungi; phila, fond of. The plant is so called because it is found growing upon other fungi.

Often nearly round, somewhat depressed, circling in folds, sometimes in quite large masses about the stems of the plant, as will be seen in Figure 403, tremelloid-fleshy, slightly pruinose, a dirty white or yellowish.

I have found it frequently growing on Collybia drophila, as is the case in Figure 403. Captain McIlvaine speaks in his book of finding this plant parasitic on Marasmius oreades in quite a large mass for this plant. I can verify the statement for I have found it on M. oreades during damp weather in August and September. It has a pleasant taste.

Tremella fimbriata. Pers.

Fimbriata is from frimbriÆ, a fringe.

It is very soft and gelatinous, olivaceous inclining to black, tufted, two to three inches high, and quite as broad, erect, lobes flaccid, corrugated, cut at the margin, which gives rise to the name of species; spores are nearly pear shaped. Found on dead branches, stumps, and on fence-rails in damp weather. Easily known by its dark color.

Tremellodon. Pers.

Tremellodon means trembling tooth.

These plants are gelatinous, with a cap or pileus; the hymenium covered with acute gelatinous spines, awl-shaped and equal. The basidia are nearly round with four rather stout, elongated sterigmata, spores very nearly round.

Tremellodon gelatinosum. Pers.

Gelatinosum means full of jelly or jelly-like, from gelatina, jelly.

The pileus is dimidiate, gelatinous, tremelloid, one to three inches broad, rather thick, extended behind into a lateral thick, stem-like base, pileus covered with a greenish-brown bloom, very minutely granular.

The hymenium is watery-gray, covered with hydnum-like teeth, stout, acute, equal, one to two inches long, whitish, soft, inclined to be glaucous. The spores are nearly round, 7–8µ.

These plants are found on pine and fir trunks and on sawdust heaps. They grow in groups and are very variable in form and size but easily determined, being the only tremelloid fungus with true spines. The plants in Figure 405 were photographed by Prof. G. D. Smith of Akron, Ohio. They are edible. Found from September to cold weather.

Exidia. Fr.

Gelatinous, marginal, fertile above, barren below. Exidia may be known by its minute nipple-like elevations.

Exidia grandulosa. Fr.

This plant is called "Witches' Butter." It varies in color, from whitish to brown and deep cinereous, at length blackish; flattened, undulated, much wrinkled above, slightly plicated below; soft at first and when moist, becoming film-like when dry. Found on dead branches of oak.

Hirneola. Fr.

Hirneola is the diminutive of hirnea, a jug. Gelatinous, cup-shaped, horny when dry. Hymenium wrinkled, becoming cartilaginous when moistened. The hymenium is in the form of a hard skin which covers the cup-shaped cavities, and which can be peeled off after soaking in water, the interstices are without papillÆ and the outer surface is velvety.

Hirneola auricula-JudÆ. Berk.

The Jew's Ear Hirneola. Edible.

Auricula-JudÆ, the ear of the Jew. The plant is gelatinous; one to four inches across; thin, concave, wavy, flexible when moist, hard when dry; blackish, fuzzy, hairy beneath; when covered with white spores it is cinereous. The hymenium by its corrugations forms depressions such as are found in the human ear. One will not fail to recognize it after seeing it once. It is not common in our woods, yet I have found it on several occasions. It is found on almost any timber but most frequently on the elm and elder. The plant in Figure 406 was found near Chillicothe. Its distribution is general.

Guepinia. Fr.[Pg 483]
[Pg 484]

Gelatinous, inclining to cartilaginous, free, different on the two sides, variable in form, substipitate. Hymenium confined to one side.

Guepinia spathularia.

Yellow, cartilaginous, especially when dry, spathulate, expanded above, hymenium slightly ribbed, contracted where it issues from a log.

It is quite common on beech and maple logs. I have seen beech logs, somewhat decayed, quite yellow with this interesting plant.

Hymenula. Fr.

Effused, very thin, maculÆform, agglutinate, between wavy or gelatinous. Berk.

Hymenula punctiformis. B. & Br.

Point-Like Hymenula.

Dirty white, quite pallid, gelatinous, punctiform, slightly undulated; consisting of erect simple threads; frequently there is a slight tinge of yellow. The spores are very minute. It looked very much like an undeveloped Peziza when I found it, in fact I thought it P. vulgaris until I had submitted a specimen to Prof. Atkinson.

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