North Carolina, including Greensboro, has been experiencing a lot of rain lately. During all of that wet weather, mushrooms were popping up everywhere. The above variety is known as Trumella mesenteric, or common jelly fungus. Another name, perfect for this time of year, is witch's butter. The gelatinous texture is a sight to behold and feel. The lobed surface feels greasy and slimy when damp. This jelly fungus can dry up and then swell back up when it gets wet again. The above piece of dead wood, that fell from a mature tree during the recent storm, is the perfect host for this fungus. According to Wikipedia it is edible, but tastes bland. As for us, we'd want it approved by an Eastern European, German, or rural North Carolina mountain grandmother before we tried it.
If you look closely, you can see that there is another type of mushroom also growing on the tree branch. Jelly fungus seems to be attracting interest. The study of mushrooms in general due to health benefits and therapeutic uses. Locally, we need to interview Dr. Omon who is one of the nation's leading authorities on mushrooms and is a professor at NC A&T University (read more HERE). He is originally from Nigeria; so, we need to add Nigerian to that list of people we would trust regarding the edibility of mushrooms! Nature is amazing and there is so much to explore right here in Greensboro- especially on lawns or fields that are not excessively groomed.
Happy Thursday!
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