Tremella fuciformis
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox Template:Mycomorphbox
Tremella fuciformis is a species of fungus; it produces white, frond-like, gelatinous basidiocarps (fruiting bodies). It is widespread, especially in the tropics, where it can be found on the dead branches of broadleaf trees. This fungus is commercially cultivated and is one of the most popular fungi in the cuisine and medicine of China.<ref name="Stamets">Template:Cite book</ref> T. fuciformis is commonly known as snow fungus, snow ear, silver ear fungus, white jelly mushroom, and white cloud ears.<ref name="Stamets" />
T. fuciformis is a parasitic yeast, and grows as a slimy, mucus-like film until it encounters its preferred hosts, various species of Annulohypoxylon (or possibly Hypoxylon) fungi, whereupon it then invades, triggering the aggressive mycelial growth required to form the fruiting bodies.<ref name="Stamets" /><ref name="mycologia" />
DescriptionEdit
Fruit bodies are gelatinous, watery white, up to Template:Convert across (larger in cultivated specimens), and composed of thin but erect, seaweed-like, branching fronds, often crisped at the edges. Microscopically, the hyphae are clamped and occur in a dense gelatinous matrix. Haustorial cells arise on the hyphae, producing filaments that attach to and penetrate the hyphae of the host. The basidia are tremelloid (ellipsoid, with oblique to vertical septa), 10–13 μm × 6.5–10 μm, sometimes stalked. The spores are ellipsoid, smooth, 5–8 μm × 4–6 μm, and germinate by hyphal tube or by yeast cells.<ref name="Chen1998"/><ref name="Roberts&Meijer1997"/>
Similar speciesEdit
Ductifera pululahuana is more opaque, as is Sebacina sparassoidea, which grows on the ground.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
TaxonomyEdit
_silver_ear_mushroom.jpg){kind=link}
Tremella fuciformis was first described in 1856 by English mycologist Miles Joseph Berkeley, based on collections made in Brazil by botanist and explorer Richard Spruce.<ref name="Berkeley1856" /> In 1939, Japanese mycologist Yosio Kobayasi described Nakaiomyces nipponicus, a similar-looking fungus that differed by having scattered, dark spines on its surface. Later research, however, showed that the fruit bodies were those of Tremella fuciformis parasitized by an ascomycete, Ceratocystis epigloeum, that formed the dark spines.<ref name="Guerrero1971" /> Nakaiomyces nipponicus is therefore a synonym of T. fuciformis.
In Mandarin Chinese, it is called 银耳 (pinyin: yín ěr; literally "silver ear"), 雪耳 (pinyin: xuě ěr; literally "snow ear"); or 白木耳 (pinyin: bái mù ěr, literally "white wood ear"), and in Japanese it is called shiro kikurage (シロキクラゲ, lit. "white tree jellyfish"). In Vietnam, it is called nấm tuyết or ngân nhĩ.
According to Paul Stamets, common names for T. fuciformis include: white jelly mushroom, yin er, white jelly fungus, white jelly leaf ("shirokikurage"), silver ear mushroom, snow mushroom, and chrysanthemum mushroom.<ref name="Stamets" />
Distribution and habitatEdit
Tremella fuciformis is known to be a parasite of Hypoxylon species.<ref name="Chen1998"/> Many of these species were reassigned to a new genus, Annulohypoxylon, in 2005<ref name="mycologia">Template:Cite journal</ref> including its preferred host, Annulohypoxylon archeri,<ref name="Stamets" /><ref name="mycologia" /> the species routinely used in commercial cultivation. Following its host, fruit bodies are typically found on dead, attached or recently fallen branches of broadleaf trees.
The species is mainly tropical and subtropical, but extends into temperate areas in Asia and North America. It is known throughout South and Central America,<ref name="Lowy 1971"/> the Caribbean,<ref name="Lowy 1971"/> parts of North America,<ref name ="Kuo"/> sub-Saharan Africa,<ref name="Roberts2001"/> southern and eastern Asia,<ref name="Chen1998"/> Australia,<ref name ="Australian Fungi"/> New Zealand (although this may be an NZ indigenous species),<ref name="NZFUNGI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Pacific Islands.<ref name ="Olive1958"/><ref name="Hemmes&Desjardin2002"/>
UsesEdit
Tremella fuciformis has been cultivated in China since at least the nineteenth century.<ref name="Chang"/>Template:Rp Initially, suitable wooden poles were prepared and then treated in various ways in the hope that they would be colonized by the fungus. This haphazard method of cultivation was improved when poles were inoculated with spores or mycelium. Modern production only began, however, with the realization that both the Tremella and its host species needed to be inoculated into the substrate to ensure success. The "dual culture" method, now used commercially, employs a sawdust mix inoculated with both fungal species and kept under optimal conditions.<ref name="Chang"/>Template:Rp The most popular species to pair with T. fuciformis is its preferred host, Annulohypoxylon archeri.<ref name="Stamets" /> Estimated production in China in 1997 was 130,000 tonnes. T. fuciformis is also cultivated in other East Asian countries, with some limited cultivation elsewhere.<ref name="Chang"/>Template:Rp
In Chinese cuisine, T. fuciformis is traditionally used in sweet dishes. While tasteless, it is valued for its gelatinous texture as well as its supposed medicinal benefits.<ref name="Chang"/>Template:Rp Most commonly, it is used to make a dessert soup called luk mei ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) in Cantonese, often in combination with jujubes, dried longans, and other ingredients. It is also used as a component of a drink and as an ice cream. Since cultivation has made it less expensive, it is now additionally used in some savoury dishes.<ref name="Chang"/>Template:Rp In Vietnamese cuisine, it is often used in Chè (Vietnamese pronunciation: [cɛ̂]), a Vietnamese term that refers to any traditional Vietnamese sweet beverage, dessert soup or pudding.
CosmeticsEdit
T. fuciformis extract is used in women's beauty products from China, Korea, and Japan. The fungus reportedly increases moisture retention in the skin and prevents senile degradation of micro-blood vessels in the skin, reducing wrinkles and smoothing fine lines. Other anti-aging effects come from increasing the presence of superoxide dismutase in the brain and liver; it is an enzyme that acts as a potent antioxidant throughout the body, particularly in the skin. It can also be used for anti-inflammatory purposes. The medical benefits that come from this organism are vast, ranging from boosting immune health to lowering heart disease.<ref> Template:Cite journal</ref> T. fuciformis is also known in Chinese medicine for nourishing the lungs,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and increasing the body's yin energy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>