Jellied False Coral Fungus

(Sebacina schweinitzii)

Conservation Status
Jellied False Coral Fungus
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

not listed

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Although Jellied False Coral Fungus looks like a coral fungus, microscopic features and recent DNA studies show that it is a jelly fungus. It obtains its nutrients from the roots of hardwood trees (mycorrhizal) but does not penetrate individual cells within the root. It is found on the ground near hardwood trees in woods and forests.

The fruiting body is a 1¼ to 4 long, 2 to 6 wide cluster of tightly packed, branched stems. The branches are erect, flattened, fused together, leathery, and dry, not gelatinous. They are whitish to buff at first, often becoming green with algae as it ages.

The spore print is white.

It is edible but rubbery and unpalatable.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
  True coral fungi are brittle, not leathery.  
     
 
Habitat and Hosts
 
 

Deciduous or mixed woods

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Season

 
 

Spring to fall

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 7, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.

 
  6/19/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common and widespread. More common than true coral fungi.

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Fungi (fungi)  
  Subkingdom Dikarya  
  Phylum Basidiomycota (club fungi)  
  Subphylum Agaricomycotina (jelly fungi, yeasts, and mushrooms)  
  Class Agaricomycetes (mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, and allies)  
  No Rank Agaricomycetes incertae sedis (no subclass)  
 

Order

Sebacinales  
 

Family

Sebacinaceae  
 

Genus

Sebacina  
       
 

This species was formerly classified as Tremellodendron pallidum. A molecular and morphological study on Sebacinales published in 2014 proposed moving Tremellodendron species into the genus Sebacina. The name Tremellodendron pallidum was based on a taxonomic error in 1915, but it was widely accepted. With the move to the new genus that error was corrected and the species epithet schweinitzii was applied.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Tremellodendron pallidum

Tremellodendron schweinitzii

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

False Coral

False Coral Fungus

False Coral Mushroom

Jellied False Coral

Jellied False Coral Fungus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Mycorrhizal

A symbiotic, usually beneficial relationship between a fungus and the tiny rootlets of a plant, usually a tree.

 
 
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Kirk Nelson

 
 

False Coral fungi along the Bluff Trail, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Long Meadow Lake Unit

 
    Jellied False Coral Fungus   Jellied False Coral Fungus  
 

Sally Shea

 
 

noticed it growing under an oak in our backyard, Hennepin Co.

 
    Jellied False Coral Fungus      
 

Steve Thompson

 
    Jellied False Coral Fungus      
 

Trista

 
 

noticed it growing under an oak in our backyard, Hennepin Co.

 
    Jellied False Coral Fungus      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
    Jellied False Coral Fungus   Jellied False Coral Fungus  

 

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Other Videos
 
  False Corel, Jelly Fungi-white
The Roaming Gnome...Glenn Munro
 
   
 
About

Published on May 26, 2015

False Coral, Jelly Fungus- Tremellodendron pallidum; Occurs same time as other jellies I collected late May 2015 Central Missouri. Identification rating for accuracy 75% sure. Edibility: Recorded to upset stomach...if not prepared correctly. Food allergies.

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this fungus.

 
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  Kirk Nelson
8/20/2017

Location: Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Long Meadow Lake Unit

False Coral fungi along the Bluff Trail

Jellied False Coral Fungus  
  Sally Shea
9/7/2016

Location: St Louis County

not sure what kind of coral mushroom this is.

Jellied False Coral Fungus  
  Steve Thompson
9/13/2015

Location: Moose Lake MN

Jellied False Coral Fungus  
  Trista
9/2/2015

Location: Hennepin Co.

noticed it growing under an oak in our backyard, Hennepin Co.

Jellied False Coral Fungus  
  Carol Freihammer
7/14/2015

Location: Richmond, MN (Stearns County)

I found this fungus at our campground, growing in my hostas by an old railroad tie used for landscaping.

 
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
   

 

 

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