Minnesota Seasons - Jelly Rot

Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Photo by Luciearl

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

not listed

Minnesota

not listed


	Description
	Jelly Rot is a wood-rotting fungus. It is found in Europe, Asia, and North and Central America. In the united States it is common from the East Coast to the Midwest and on the West Coast. It is less common in Minnesota, where it is at the western edge of its range. It obtains its nutrients from dead wood (saprobic). It grows flat (resupinate), alone or in groups, mostly on stumps and fallen branches of deciduous trees, especially oak and beech, occasionally also on wood of coniferous trees. It sometimes appears in overlapping clusters. The fruiting body is a 2″ to 4″ long, ¾″ to 1½″ wide, irregularly shaped patch of pore surface spread out flat (effused) on a branch or log (substrate). It is pale and lies completely flat (resupinate) when young. As it matures it darkens and the upper edge folds back more than 90° creating a bracket-like cap. Adjacent patches often fuse together covering extensive areas. The lower surface is the only visible part when no caps are present. It is yellowish to brownish-orange to pinkish-orange when young, becoming orange to red when mature. The flesh is translucent, flexible, rubbery, and somewhat jelly-like. It has a shallow, elaborate network of narrow ridges, 1 ⁄32″ to 1 ⁄16″ wide furrows, and crossveins. It looks something like a tube surfacebut unlike a true tube surface, spore-producing structures (basidia) cover the entire networked layer. The caps, when present, are narrow, up to ¾″ long, white to pale yellow, and densely covered with woolly hairs. There is no stem. The flesh is very thin, whitish, and waxy or gelatinous. It is not edible. The spore print is white.

	Similar Species
	Wrinkled Crust (Phlebia radiata) does not produce caps.


	Habitat and Hosts
	Mostly hardwoods, especially oak and beech


	Ecology
	Season
	Late spring through fall


	Distribution
			Sources 4, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.
	7/21/2022

	Occurrence
	Widespread and common


	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)
	Subclass	Agaricomycetidae
	Order	Polyporales (shelf fungi)
	Family	Meruliaceae
	Genus	Phlebia

	This species was formerly classified as Merulius tremellosus. In 1984 it was transferred to the genus Phlebia. A recent DNA study (Monclavo et al., 2002) showed the the genus Phlebia is probably polyphyletic, containing unrelated species. However, Phlebia tremellosa is part of a group that clearly belongs to the genus Phlebia. The transfer has been accepted my most but not all taxonomic sources (e.g., iNaturalist).

	Synonyms
	Merulius imbricatus Merulius spongiosus Merulius tremellosus Sesia tremellosa Xylomyzon tremellosum

	Common Names
	Jelly Rot Jelly Rot Fungus Trembling Crust Trembling Merulius

Glossary

Basidium

A microscopic, club-shaped structure on the underside of the cap of club fungi that produces spores. Plural: basidia.

Resupinate

In fungi: referring to the fruiting body lying flat on the surface of the substrate, without a stalk or a cap.

Saprobic

A term often used for saprotrophic fungi. Referring to fungi that obtain their nutrients from decayed organic matter.


	Visitor Photos

	Share your photo of this fungus.
			This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.


	Luciearl





	Fungi in decaying log


	Found a lot of this fungus on several downed trees.


	Fairview Twp., Cass County


	I believe these were all on a large downed poplar.







	Alfredo Colon






	Honey Fae (Farah)





	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

Camera


	Slideshows

slideshow


	Visitor Videos

	Share your video of this fungus.
		This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.










	Other Videos


	Żylak trzęsakowaty (Phlebia tremellosa) Jaworzno Paul and Mushrooms

	About Published on Nov 1, 2017



	Jelly Rot Fungus - Trembling Merulius - Rotsveppir - Geislahrúður - Sveppir Hellen Linda Drake

	About Published on Feb 21, 2014 Jelly Rot Fungus - Phlebia tremellosa - Merulius tremellosus. - Meruliaceae - Kniplingsætt - Sveppaætt - Phlebia radiate - Geislahrúður Phlebia means "veins"; tremellosa means "trembling." Its typical form is a classic example of what mycologists call an "effused-reflexed" fruiting body; it spreads its spore-bearing surface over the wood and musters up just enough cap-making umph to fold over its upper edge into a slight extension. Other distinguishing features include the translucent, orangish to pinkish spore-bearing surface, which develops deep folds and pockets; the whitish, hairy upper edge; growing alone to gregariously, sometimes in overlapping clusters; found primarily on the dead wood of hardwoods but also reported on conifer wood; causing a white rot; See more: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phlebia_tremellosa.html Upper surface: Caps white to pale yellow; hairy, wooly. Pore surface: Pore-like with a network of radiating folds, ridges, and crossveins; yellowish to brownish-orange to pinkish-orange; rubbery, flexible, and gelatinous. Edibility: Inedible. : https://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood//poroid%20fungi/species%20pages/Phlebia%20tremellosa.htm Caps white to pale yellow; hairy, woolly. These soft and flexible bracket-like growths often fuse laterally to form more extensive sheets. Habitat : Mostly on decaying deciduous wood. Fairly frequent and widespread in Britain. See more: https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/jelly-rot-fungus Hérna er að finna mikinn fróðleik um alskonar sveppi eins og rotsveppi af Kniplingsætt (Meruliaceae) : https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notandi:Akigka/Sveppir_%C3%A1_%C3%8Dslandi Fungi, Basidiomycota, Agaricomycotina, Agaricomycetes, Polyporales, Meruliaceae, Phlebia.

Camcorder


Visitor Sightings

Report a sighting of this fungus.
		This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location.



Luciearl 9/24/2023	Location: Fairview Twp., Cass County



Luciearl March 2023	Location: Lake Shore, MN Fungi in decaying log



Alfredo Colon 8/26/2022	Location: Albany, NY



Honey Fae (Farah) 4/10/2022	Location: Minnesota



Luciearl 11/14/2021	Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County



Apricity Apricity Fall 2021	Location: Martin County, Fairmont, MN



Luciearl 10/14/2021	Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County Found a lot of this fungus on several downed trees.



Luciearl 12/9/2019	Location: Fairview Twp., Cass County



Luciearl 10/23/2018	Location: Cass County



MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings