| Auricularia | |
|---|---|
| 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 8 |
|
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Patila Adans. (1763) |
|
Auricularia is a genus of jelly fungi in the family Auriculariaceae. There are about eight species described in this genus, which has a widespread distribution.[2]
Contents |
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.[3] 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.[4]