Winter jellies wiggle in the woods

Island Wild for Fri. Feb. 26, 2010






Witches’ Butter is an irregular lobed mass of golden jelly.

Resembling amethyst, this Purple Jelly disc fungus grows alongside the Campbell River. Photos Christine Scott.

Most children love Jell-O and other gelatinous desserts. This jiggly treat almost dances on the plate, and since its launch in 1902, J-E-L-L-O has been a family favourite.

Colourful jellies can also be found in the forest. Just the concept of finding wiggly jellies out-of-doors is enough to send folks rushing out on nature trails, with the young ones singing “J-E-L-L-Y” in that familiar rising five-note theme.

Jelly fungi are simply mushrooms with a different texture, and colours that span the entire rainbow. Not all mushrooms have gills; jelly mushrooms resemble their food counterpart, but have no stem, gills or visible pores. But as with other mushrooms, jelly fungi lack chlorophyll, feed on organic matter, and reproduce through spores.

A jelly-like consistency defines them when wet, but they can dry up and turn rubbery and convoluted. When it rains, these magical little jellies slurp up the water, and take back their original soft, wiggly shapes.

Alongside the Campbell River, we found half-a-dozen clumps of bright orange jelly fungus, little purple disc jellies, and white jelly tooth. These strange fungi can appear on a tree branch, a bed of moss or rotting tree trunk.

When a bright purple blob on some dead wood caught my eye, we were thrilled to discover the Purple Jelly disc fungus (Ascocoryne sarcoides), a species that very much resembles the gemstone amethyst.

Arguably the most conspicuous and common jelly fungus, Witches’ Butter (Tremella mesenterica), is a jiggler of many names, including Yellow Brain Fungus, or Golden Jelly Fungus. An edible, year-round find, this species prefers to grow on deciduous wood, especially alder, and varies in colour from orange to yellow to almost red when dry.

A similar species, Orange Jelly (Dacrymyces palmatus), also forms a brain-like, lobed mass, but with a white basal attachment. This edible species grows year-round, but prefers coniferous wood.

In some countries, jellied mushrooms are harvested, powdered, and sold as medicine or soup flavouring. Researchers believe Pig’s Ear (Wood Ear) jelly mushroom (Auricularia auricula) may contain anti-cancer properties.

Some –not all – jelly fungi are edible, but very few are toxic. Nevertheless, always teach little ones to be suspicious of mushrooms; the childhood habit of nibbling on things in the outdoors could be disastrous if the ‘things’ turn out to be toxic mushrooms. Always wash hands thoroughly after touching wild mushrooms.

Mushrooming is a wonderful family activity, and finding a spoonful of marmalade on a tree branch is pure fun. Until the spring wildflowers begin blooming, our woodland jellies await discovery in all their jiggly glory.