Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Small
Diet: Decomposer
Biome: Temperate conifer forest
Range: Northern Hemisphere
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Warning Colors
Status: Common

About

A bright orange, brain-like blob of jelly fungus that erupts from dead conifer wood, often mistaken for the unrelated witch's butter. It swells plump after rain and shrivels to a dark, crusty smear during dry spells, only to rehydrate and puff back up again.

Life cycle

1.
spore
A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2.
mycelium
A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3.
fruiting body
A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Dacrymycetes
Order: Dacrymycetales
Family: Dacrymycetaceae
Genus: Dacrymyces
Species: Dacrymyces chrysospermus