Unidentified Fungi

[forestelf]

Confused a bit now - on Wikipedia it says that Tremella mesenterica is known as Witch's Butter - not too sure if they are correct or not now

Tremella mesenterica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[cybershot]

The List of Recommended English Names promulgated by the BMS has the following:

Exidia glandulosa - Witches' Butter
Tremella mesenterica - Yellow Brain

For the sake of clarity it is far better to refer to the scientific names and only introduce the common names in a sense of fun.

David

[mollisia]

Hello David,

usually you are right, but just in this case of the Witches Butter the scientific name Exidia glandulosa isn't a good help either

best regards,
Andreas

[cybershot]

Originally Posted by mollisia

Hello David,

usually you are right, but just in this case of the Witches Butter the scientific name Exidia glandulosa isn't a good help either

best regards,
Andreas

A quick 'Exidia' search of the Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota confirms what you say about the confusion surrounding this species with so many synonyms and excluded names being listed.

For example, this is what it throws up for Exidia glandulosa:

"Exidia glandulosa (Bull.) Fr., Syst. mycol. (Lundae) 2(1): 224 (1822)

Tremella intumescens sensu auct.
Exidia plana sensu auct.
Exidia intumescens sensu auct.
Tremella arborea sensu auct.
Tremella atra O.F. Müll., Fl. Dan. 5: tab. 884 (1782)
Tremella glandulosa Bull., Herb. France (Paris) 9: pl. 420, fig. 1 (1789)
Tremella spiculosa Pers., Observ. mycol. (Copenhagen) 2: 99 (1800) [1799]
Gyraria spiculosa (Pers.) Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. (London) 1: 594 (1821)
Exidia truncata Fr., Syst. mycol. (Lundae) 2(1): 224 (1822)
Exidia spiculosa (Pers.) Sommerf., Suppl. fl. lapp. (Oslo): 307 (1826)


Habitat: On dead attached or fallen wood of deciduous trees, most commonly Corylus, Quercus spp. and Fagus.


Notes: Common and widespread. Basidiomes are turbinate, unlike those of E. plana which are resupinate and cerebriform. Exidia glandulosa sensu Fries (1823) is the latter species."

Ref: http://www.basidiochecklist.info/index.htm

And that's without any "Witches' Butter" complications

[mollisia]

Hello,

(nearly) every species has an exhaustive list of synonyms, thats not a problem in itself. But in the case of Exidia glandulosa it is especially annoying, because the name "glandulosa" was a long time used in the sens of what is now called "plana" (the flat blackish Exidia). And what is today called "glandulosa" has been called for a long time "truncata" (the turbinate blackish Exidia).
it confusing enough when species change names, but when two very similar species change a name from one to the other, it is extremely confusing!

This could have been solved in my opinion (though I'm not too familiar with this group of fungi) by conerving the name glandulosa in the old sense.

best regards,
Andreas

[hamadryad]

As far as I was aware tremella messenterica and aurantia are both witches butter, due to an old folk thing of if it grew on your gate post you had been hexed by a witch and the only way to remove the hex was to prick the fungus and let it ooze killing it and removing the curse. I think this is wrong myself, and sure the exidias are the "butters"

tremella mesenterica parasite of peniophora quercina, a usualy small purple crust on fine twigs of Oak but some other broadleaves including and especialy beech or fagus Sylvatica for the hardcores!

T aurantia, on Stereum hirsutum as mentioned.

Exidias are an entirely different thing are the not?

[fairplay]

The photo shows the Tremella sp. growing on what appears to be Ulex which is host to several Peniophora spp.
Records also show that T.messenterica has a liking for Gorse.

I don't think I have seen Stereum hirsutum on Gorse, but I may be wrong.

Neil.

[hamadryad]

Originally Posted by fairplay

The photo shows the Tremella sp. growing on what appears to be Ulex which is host to several Peniophora spp.
Records also show that T.messenterica has a liking for Gorse.

I don't think I have seen Stereum hirsutum on Gorse, but I may be wrong.

Neil.

Do you mean Ilex as in holly neil? good info, I was unaware it loved gorse, or other species of peniophora, only found it in association with P.quercina, at least as far as i can tell. and only ever on Oak and beech?

[fairplay]

Nah ..... Ulex europeaus - Gorse/Furse, the most common of the 3 Gorse species in this country.

The other 2 are U.minor - Dwarf Gorse, and U.gallii - Western Gorse.

Neil.

[Michael Jordan]

Originally Posted by fairplay

The photo shows the Tremella sp. growing on what appears to be Ulex which is host to several Peniophora spp.
Records also show that T.messenterica has a liking for Gorse.

I don't think I have seen Stereum hirsutum on Gorse, but I may be wrong.

Neil.

One of the analytical strengths of the national CATE database lies in running a simple online query, which provides an immediate answer to this type of question. There is a caveat that many recorders will not record the species of a fallen twig or branch on which Stereum species are found. CATE, however, holds a small number of records of Stereum hirsutum on Ulex sp. - 4 in Cornwall and 1 in Pembrokeshire - out of a total of 3,682 on the dataset as of yesterday.