Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Decomposer

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

Worldwide

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

Tremella mesenterica is a bright golden-yellow jelly fungus that erupts from dead deciduous wood in gelatinous, brain-like folds after rain. Despite looking like a harmless saprophyte, it is actually a parasite — it feeds on the hidden mycelium of crust fungi already colonising the wood beneath.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   spore

   A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2. 2.
   mycelium

   A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3. 3.
   fruiting body

   A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →
• Watch on YouTube →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Fungi

Phylum

Basidiomycota

Class

Tremellomycetes

Order

Tremellales

Family

Tremellaceae

Genus

Tremella

Species

Tremella mesenterica