Tripe Fungus

Tripe Fungus Auricularia mesenterica (Dicks.) Pers. (illustrated (e) 80% life size) Fruit body disc-shaped, then spreading laterally to form densely tiered, gelatinous brackets 2–8cm wide; upper surface hairy, zoned greyish to grey-brown, paler at the lobed margin; lower surface reddish-purple to dark purple with a white bloom; gelatinous, rubbery, coarsely and irregularly wrinkled. Spores 11–13×4–5¼, subcylindrical to somewhat curved; white. Habitat on stumps and logs of deciduous trees, especially elm; all year. Common. Not edible.