Jelly ear

A jelly ear fungus growing from the trunk of a tree. It's a wrinkled, pinkish fungus that looks remarkably like an ear

Jelly ear © Kieran Morgan

Jelly ear

As the name suggests, this fungus looks uncannily like an ear!

Enw gwyddonol

Auricularia auricula-judae

Pryd i'w gweld

All year

Species information

Ystadegau

Usually 3-10 cm
Common

Habitats

Ynghylch

The jelly ear fungus grows on dead and dying branches. It is most often found on elder trees, but can sometimes be encountered on other species such as ash, beech and sycamore. It favours damp, shady spots and often grows in clusters.

Sut i'w hadnabod

A gelatinous purplish-brown fungus that grows in cups on branches. As the cups age, they develop lobes and can look uncannily like an ear growing from the wood. The inner surface of the cups is smooth and shiny, whilst the outside is velvety.

Dosbarthiad

Common across the UK

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

Jelly ear can survive freezing weather, thawing out afterwards and continuing to grow.