Auricularia
| Auricularia | |
|---|---|
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|
| Auricularia auricula-judae | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Auriculariales |
| Family: | Auriculariaceae |
| Genus: |
Auricularia Bull. ex Juss. (1789) |
| Type species | |
|
Auricularia mesenterica (Dicks.) Pers. (1822) |
|
| Species | |
|
about 30 |
|
| Synonyms | |
about 30
Auricularia is a genus of jelly fungi in the family Auriculariaceae. Preliminary phylogenetic studies suggest the Exidiaceae is closely related to Auriculariaceae - the two share many morphological traits. Fruitbody either resupinate or pileate and then either ear-to shell-shaped or forming narrow, imbricate brackets, flabby elastic or tough gelatinous; hymenial surface smooth, wrinkled or veined, often purplish. Basidia cylindrical, with 1-3 transeverse septa. Spores narrowly ellipsoid to allantoid, hyaline, smooth. Most Auricularia species are edible and are grown commercially. Auricularia species are widely distributed in Kerala's Western Ghats, and recently, Auricularia auricula-judae, A. polytricha, and A. mesenterica have been reported.
Lowy, in 1951, described a key to the species of Auricularia that emphasized the internal structure of the fruit body, while de-emphasizing traditional characteristics such as color, shape and size, which he considered to be too variable and dependent upon such factors as the age of the specimen, exposure to light, or availability of moisture. The characteristics he emphasized were the presence or absence, width and morphology of the medulla (the part composed mainly or entirely of longitudinal hyphae), and the length of the abhymenial hairs, features that are currently used in defining species in this genus.
As of May 2015[update], Index Fungorum lists 28 species of Auricularia:
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