Witches Butter Tremella mesenterica (Schaeffer) Retx.    Synonyms: Tremella lutescens, Witch's Butter.
Kingdom Fungi   >   Phylum Basidiomycota   >   Class Tremellomycetes   >   Order Tremellales   >   Family Tremellaceae   >   Genus Tremella   

Status:

Found in clusters on decaying hardwoods.

Description:

Fruiting body: Yellow to yellow-orange; rubbery, wrinkled, gelatinous, mass. Identifying the substrate is essential. This species grows on hardwoods, while the similar Orange Jelly (Dacrymyces palmatus) grows on conifers. It may also be mistaken for Golden Ear (Tremella aurantia) which is parasitic on Stereum hirsutum.

Relationships:

Parasitizes Giraffe Spots and other members of the genus Peniophora. Because the Witches Butter fruiting bodies arise from the Peniophora mycelium, only infrequently are the fruiting bodies of the two visible at the same time. (J. Solem, pers. comm.)

There are 309 records in the project database.

View taxon at MycoBank

View taxon at iNaturalist

View taxon at NatureServe

Search Google Images

Search MBP Facebook posts (beta | requires login)


[View seasonality details]
GA AL WA FR CL MO HO BA BC HA CE PG AA CV CH SMKE QA CN TADO WISOWO 
Witches Butter in Worcester Co., Maryland (10/22/2016). Photo by Ashley Bradford. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Dorchester Co., Maryland (4/20/2013). Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Howard Co., Maryland (3/14/2016). Photo by John Hall. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Frederick Co., Maryland (6/8/2013). Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Allegany Co., Maryland (5/26/2016). Photo by Kimberly Booth. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Howard Co., Maryland (5/1/2014). Photo by Nancy Magnusson. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Baltimore Co., Maryland (5/15/2016). Photo by Rose Anderson. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Kent Co., Maryland (6/14/2014). Photo by Nancy Martin. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Howard Co., Maryland (8/8/2020). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Howard Co., Maryland (8/8/2020). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Howard Co., Maryland (2/11/2018). Photo by Bonnie Ott. (MBP list)

Witches Butter (fruiting bodies) in Howard Co., Maryland (12/5/2009). Photo by Richard Orr. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Howard Co., Maryland (2/12/2017). Photo by Kerry Wixted. (MBP list)

Fruiting bodies of Witches Butter and Giraffe Spots in Frederick Co., Maryland (1/11/2020). Photo by Emilio Concari. (MBP list)

Fruiting bodies of Witches Butter and Giraffe Spots in Carroll Co., Maryland (1/15/2020). Photo by Emilio Concari. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Montgomery Co., Maryland (4/27/2020). (c) thosmoore, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by thosmoore via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Montgomery Co., Maryland (4/7/2017). Photo by Max Wilson. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Prince George's Co., Maryland (10/31/2020). (c) Matthew Beziat, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Matthew Beziat. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Prince George's Co., Maryland (12/5/2020). (c) Chris Combs, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Chris Combs via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Cecil Co., Maryland (12/11/2019). (c) sionnach dhu, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by sionnach_dhu via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Maryland (6/23/2020). (c) PJ Perna, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by PJ Perna via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Prince George's Co., Maryland (10/3/2020). (c) Matthew Beziat, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Matthew Beziat. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Montgomery Co., Maryland (5/6/2020). (c) epic2112, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by epic2112 via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Frederick Co., Maryland (12/5/2020). (c) Emilio Concari, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Emilio Concari. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (4/9/2015). Photo by Lori Byrne. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Garrett Co., Maryland (4/26/2015). Photo by Kerry Wixted. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Carroll Co., Maryland (12/28/2019). (c) emilio c, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Emilio Concari. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (3/1/2017). Photo by Tyler Bell. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Frederick Co., Maryland (5/30/2020). (c) dangitmimi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by dangitmimi via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Montgomery Co., Maryland (4/26/2020). (c) mongroovington, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by mongroovington via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Howard Co., Maryland (4/26/2020). (c) R. DN., some rights reserved (CC BY). Photo by R. DN. via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (3/19/2020). (c) Michael J. W. Carr, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA). Photo by Michael J. W. Carr via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Baltimore Co., Maryland (11/27/2019). (c) drizzt173, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by drizzt173 via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Montgomery Co., Maryland (3/29/2020). (c) Jim Moore (Maryland), some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Jim Moore. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Baltimore City, Maryland (12/19/2020). (c) Thomas Tooke, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by tmtooke via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Witches Butter in Frederick Co., Maryland (1/1/2021). (c) Emilio Concari, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Emilio Concari. (MBP list)


View All Images

Use of images featured on Maryland Biodiversity Project is only permitted with express permission of the photographer.

Eating mushrooms can be dangerous. One should do so only with expert advice and great care. MBP accepts no liability for injury sustained in consuming fungi or other biodiversity.

View Bibliography