Snow Fungus

Snow Fungus is a common, fairly large, jelly fungus. It occurs in the tropical zone worldwide and in North America. In the United States it occurs east of the Great Plains south of the 46th parallel. In Minnesota, it is mostly found in the southeastern quarter of the state.

Snow Fungus grows in summer and fall on dead branches of hardwoods, both those that are recently fallen and those that are still attached to the trunk. It may be parasitic, gaining its nutrients from the vegetative part (mycelium) of Annulohypoxylon and possibly Hypoxylon fungi. On the other hand, it may be saprobic, gaining its nutrients from decaying wood that is already partially decomposed by those same fungi. It usually appears after a heavy rain.

The fruiting body is one to several thin, erect, wavy, leaf-like fronds. The fronds are up to 2¾″ (7 cm) wide, 1½″ (4 cm) high, lobed, wavy, and often finely curled (crisped) at the margins. They are whitish and distinctly translucent.

The flesh is edible and fairly firm, but it is tasteless and mostly water. Cooking it will release the water and leave little to eat. According to David Arora (Mushrooms Demystified), when prepared with garlic and soy sauce, a Tremella fungus tastes like garlic and soy sauce.

The spore print is white.

Dead branches of hardwoods. Associated with and possibly parasitic on Annulohypoxylon and possibly Hypoxylon fungi.

Summer and fall

Sources

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

On Tuesday, the group I hike with, went to Magelssen Bluff Park in Rushford. There were lots of mushrooms and fungi along the trail. The park uses downed trees to line the trails as well as wood chips on the trail itself to help curb erosion. They do a wonderful job. All that decaying wood makes excellent food for mushrooms/fungi.

One of the fungi that I photographed looked a lot like White Jelly Fungus to me, but another iNaturalist poster said I was wrong and called it Snow Fungus. I noticed that you didn’t have Snow Fungus pictures, so I am sending you mine.

Edible Snow ❄️ Mushrooms growing in the garden/ Tremella fuciformis
Life In Florida

Epic Fruiting of Snow Fungus | White Wood Ear | Tremella Fuciformis
Wild Sherbet

Location: Magelssen Bluff Park, Rushford

On Tuesday, the group I hike with, went to Magelssen Bluff Park in Rushford. There were lots of mushrooms and fungi along the trail. The park uses downed trees to line the trails as well as wood chips on the trail itself to help curb erosion. They do a wonderful job. All that decaying wood makes excellent food for mushrooms/fungi.

One of the fungi that I photographed looked a lot like White Jelly Fungus to me, but another iNaturalist poster said I was wrong and called it Snow Fungus. I noticed that you didn’t have Snow Fungus pictures, so I am sending you mine.