Auricularia auricula-judae

(Bull.) Quél.

Growing on elder at Ickworth Park, Suffolk.
Button-like developing fruiting bodies on fallen ash in Hockley Woods, Essex
Mature fruiting bodies on a bark-less fallen hawthorn at Pishiobury Park, Hertfordshire
At the base of false acacia in an over-mature state in Basildon, Essex
Desiccated fruiting bodies on a dead field maple stem at Mote Park, Maidstone

Growing on elder at Ickworth Park, Suffolk.
Button-like developing fruiting bodies on fallen ash in Hockley Woods, Essex
Mature fruiting bodies on a bark-less fallen hawthorn at Pishiobury Park, Hertfordshire
At the base of false acacia in an over-mature state in Basildon, Essex
Desiccated fruiting bodies on a dead field maple stem at Mote Park, Maidstone
Adjacent to a knot on a fallen field maple at Ickworth Park, UK.
On fallen wood at New England Wood, Essex, UK.
Blackened fruit bodies on beech in the New Forest, UK.
Veined fruit bodies on a dead elder branch in Laindon, Essex.
On standing dead wood in Basildon, Essex.

Common name

Jelly ear.

Often found on

Elder

Sometimes found on

Ash, beech, maple, oak, plane, and other broadleaved species.

Location

Found across the entire structure of the standing tree. Also found on stumps.

Description

Annual . Jelly-like / rubbery. Begins as a small button. Develops into an ear-like form that is red-brown to tan to fleshy-pink. Very thin. Sometimes with superficial ‘veins’ and covered with a greyish down. Desiccates to a wrinkled mass that is a dark red-brown to purple.

Confused with

None.

Significance

Attributed to a selective white rot of the wood. Usually considered saprotrophic though may act as a weak parasite. Considered – but not conclusively proven – to be endophytic . Presence indicative of dysfunction, where branch is still alive – often localised dysfunction, when found on small dead stubs and on pruning wounds. Presence at the stem base can signal dysfunction and host tree decline. May act as an indicator of Massaria-infected branches on plane.