TREMELLINI FR.
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.
[Illustration: Figure 402.--Tremella albida. Natural size.]
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, 12-14x4-5u. The specimen represented in
Figure 402 was found near Sandusky and photographed by Dr. Kellerman.
_Tremella mycetophila. Pk._
[Illustration: Figure 403.--Tremella mycetophila.]
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 _frimbriae_, 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._
[Illustration: Figure 405.--Tremellodon gelatinosum.]
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, 7-8u.
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._
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Plate L. Figure 404.--Excidia glandulosa.]
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 papillae and the outer surface is velvety.
_Hirneola auricula-Judae. Berk._
THE JEW'S EAR HIRNEOLA. EDIBLE.
[Illustration: Figure 406.--Hirneola auricula-Judae.]
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Plate LI. Figure 407.--Hirneola auricula-judae.]
Auricula-Judae, 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._
Gelatinous, inclining to cartilaginous, free, different on the two
sides, variable in form, substipitate. Hymenium confined to one side.
_Guepinia spathularia._
[Illustration: _Photo by C. G. Lloyd._
Figure 408.--Guepinia spathularia. Entire plant a light yellow.]
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, maculaeform, 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.