What the Fungus!? White Jelly Fungus
June 14, 2022 at 5:25 p.m.
An early June hike through the woods surrounding Brookville Lake revealed few exciting fungal discoveries, but I did see the local population of white jelly fungus is growing well. I've been finding white jelly fungus specimens since early May, but not this large.
White jelly fungus, or ductifera pululahuana, can be found commonly in Indiana and Ohio and less so throughout eastern North America and extending south as far as Chile and Brazil. It can be found growing on well decomposed hardwood logs from late spring through the fall, when weather conditions present an appropriate environment.
Despite being so common in southeastern Indiana, its narrow distribution results in a lack of knowledge about the fungus, especially compared to its primary lookalike, tremella fuciformis, or snow fungus. Found in the tropics and subtropics around the world, with some extensions into temperate zones, t. fuciformis has a long history of culinary and cosmetic use in Asia. Relatively tasteless, the t. fuciformis is prized for its gelatinous texture in desserts and soups and its anti-aging and antioxidant properties in skin creams and serums.
Edibility of d. pululahuana is somewhat questionable, with the only consensus is that it is not a “choice” mushroom. My own personal research has found no reports of negative side effects resulting from moderate consumption of cooked d. pululahuana and appears to be used as an alternative to t. fuciformis. This led me to try some myself, which I cooked up with a small amount of other wild mushrooms in a lo mein. It's not necessarily a mushroom I would seek out as a food source, or recommend others to, but it may be handy knowledge in the upcoming apocalypse.
Do not rely on this information and photograph to make the decision to eat wild, foraged mushrooms. If eating a weird, tasteless, gelatinous fungus is appealing, please use this as a starting point to do your own research and seek additional information on the identification and edibility of any wild fungi before consumption. Some wild mushrooms can cause severe illness or even death; familiarize yourself with any potentially poisonous lookalikes before deciding to eat any wild mushroom.
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An early June hike through the woods surrounding Brookville Lake revealed few exciting fungal discoveries, but I did see the local population of white jelly fungus is growing well. I've been finding white jelly fungus specimens since early May, but not this large.
White jelly fungus, or ductifera pululahuana, can be found commonly in Indiana and Ohio and less so throughout eastern North America and extending south as far as Chile and Brazil. It can be found growing on well decomposed hardwood logs from late spring through the fall, when weather conditions present an appropriate environment.
Despite being so common in southeastern Indiana, its narrow distribution results in a lack of knowledge about the fungus, especially compared to its primary lookalike, tremella fuciformis, or snow fungus. Found in the tropics and subtropics around the world, with some extensions into temperate zones, t. fuciformis has a long history of culinary and cosmetic use in Asia. Relatively tasteless, the t. fuciformis is prized for its gelatinous texture in desserts and soups and its anti-aging and antioxidant properties in skin creams and serums.
Edibility of d. pululahuana is somewhat questionable, with the only consensus is that it is not a “choice” mushroom. My own personal research has found no reports of negative side effects resulting from moderate consumption of cooked d. pululahuana and appears to be used as an alternative to t. fuciformis. This led me to try some myself, which I cooked up with a small amount of other wild mushrooms in a lo mein. It's not necessarily a mushroom I would seek out as a food source, or recommend others to, but it may be handy knowledge in the upcoming apocalypse.
Do not rely on this information and photograph to make the decision to eat wild, foraged mushrooms. If eating a weird, tasteless, gelatinous fungus is appealing, please use this as a starting point to do your own research and seek additional information on the identification and edibility of any wild fungi before consumption. Some wild mushrooms can cause severe illness or even death; familiarize yourself with any potentially poisonous lookalikes before deciding to eat any wild mushroom.