''Phlebia tremellosa'' (formerly ''Merulius tremellosus''), commonly known as trembling Merulius or jelly rot, is a species of

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

in the family

Meruliaceae The Meruliaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 47 genera and 420 species. , Index Fungorum accepts 645 species in the family. Taxonomy The family was formally circumscribed by E ...

. It is a common and widely distributed

wood-decay fungus A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as ''Armillaria'' (honey fungus), are parasitic and col ...

that grows on the rotting wood of both

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

and

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

plants.

Taxonomy

The fungus was originally described in 1794 by German botanist

Heinrich Adolf Schrader Heinrich Adolf Schrader (1 January 1767 in Alfeld near Hildesheim – 22 October 1836 in Göttingen) was a German botanist and mycologist. He studied medicine early in life. He named the Australian plant genus '' Hakea'' in 1797. In 1795 he ...

, who called it ''Merulius tremellosus''. Nakasone and Burdsall transferred the taxon to the genus ''

Phlebia ''Phlebia'' is a genus of mostly crust fungi in the family Meruliaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution. ''Phlebia'' species cause white rot. Taxonomy ''Phlebia'' was circumscribed by Swedish mycologist Elias Fries in his 1821 work ''Sy ...

'' in 1984, when they placed ''

Merulius ''Merulius'' is a genus of poroid fungi in the family Meruliaceae. , Index Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. the project is based at the Royal Botani ...

'' in

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

. It is commonly known as the "trembling Merulius", or "jelly rot".

Description

Fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

of the fungus are fan-shaped to semicircular, measuring wide by long. They have a spongy to fibrous texture, comprising stalkless

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

or spreading crusts. The upper surface, white to pale yellow in colour, can be dry to moist, and hairy to woolly; the margin is usually white to translucent. The undersurface, bearing the fertile

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some ...

, features radiating to wrinkled ridges and cross veins, and often forms pore-like depressions on mature specimens. Its colour is yellowish orange or pinkish orange. The

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as mu ...

of this fungus is about 2 mm thick, with a fleshy to gelatinous texture and white to yellowish colour. In Dutch, the mushroom is known as bacon-pork rind mushroom because of the resembling with a piece of

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

. It is inedible. File:Phlebia tremellosa 63160.jpg, The spore-bearing surface features wrinkled ridges and cross veins. File:Spekzwoerdzwam.jpg, Phlebia tremellosa resembling a piece of bacon

Habitat and distribution

''Phlebia tremellosa'' is found in Asia, Europe, North Africa, North America, and South America. It is a

white rot A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as ''Armillaria'' (honey fungus), are parasitic and col ...

species that grows on the stumps, fallen branches, and logs of both

s and

References

External link

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q48305660, from2=Q2115466 Fungi described in 1821 Fungi of Africa Fungi of Asia Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Fungi of South America Inedible fungi Meruliaceae Taxa named by Heinrich Schrader (botanist)