Complex
Auricularia auricula-judae
Auricularia americana. Photo: (c) pinonbistro, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
Auricularia auricula-judae, known most commonly as Jew’s Ear (alternatively, wood ear, jelly ear, or by a number of other common names), is a species of edible Auriculariales fungus found worldwide. The fruiting body is distinguished by its noticeably ear-like shape and brown colouration; it grows upon wood, especially elder. Its specific epithet is derived from the belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an elder tree; the common name “Judas’s ear” was largely eclipsed by the…