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Witch's Butter

Tremella aurantia

Photo by AshleyT
Published on Project Noah
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31.6125, -95.9824

Field Notes

Description:

Witch's butter is the orange fungus, which is often mistaken for the more known Witch's butter, T. mesenterica, but they can be distinguished by what fungus they are parasitizing. The fungus being parasitized is common wood rotter, Stereum hirsutum, and it is the smaller brown fungus on the tree.

Habitat:

On an oak tree in a mostly oak forest. It had been raining a lot the few days before I saw this.

Reference Links:

California Fungi: Tremella aurantia

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (9)
AshleyT
Very cool Mark, thanks for sharing!
Mark Ridgway
Cool spotting Ashley. Plenty of fungi grow on other fungi although most don't fall into the macro fungi category. Here's a bolete specialist http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/25577035 and some others? http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/242756013
AshleyT
Awesome, I just read up on it some and that's pretty cool, I didn't know fungus could be parasitized. Thank you Randy and Antonio for your help!
RandyL.
I see them a lot in the oak forests here. All Tremella species are parasitic of other fungi, so seeing their host helps a lot with the ID. Without that you would probably need a microscope to tel the difference.
AshleyT
Thanks Randy! Can you tell me how you know that? I don't know much of anything about fungi
RandyL.
It is Tremella aurantia parasitizing Stereum hirsutum.
AshleyT
I'm not sure, I didn't touch either of them. It looks more jelly but I know that doesn't mean much! Thanks for the leads, we'll wait a few days and see if anyone else chimes in :)
AntónioGinjaGinja
Very nice capture Ashley ,the old ones seems to be ,Hairy stereum, Stereum hirsutum. The other more yellow seems more like a, Witches' butter, Tremella mesenterica.But iam not 100% sure,let it un id until tomorrow,to see if someone give you any id,if not,i will search furder and tomorrow i will have a more close id. Tell me one thing,the texture of the more yellow was like jelly,or more solid like the other?

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Fungus in America
Photographed
PublishedApril 10, 2014

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