The edible and medicinal wood ear mushroom: Auricularia species. Foraging, identifying and preparing this wild mushroom.

  Identification difficulty level: Beginner

2022 Update Note:
Between 2013 - 2015, extensive DNA analysis was done on the mushrooms previously known as Auricularia auricula, and it was discovered that what was believed to be one species was actually a cluster of closely related species. This information was not confirmed until 2019, and not widely published until recently. 

Auricularia auricula-judae was discovered to actually be multiple different species that look and act very similar. The name Auricularia auricula-judae now only applies to the European species.

The Asian species have been renamed as Auricularia heimuer and Auricularia villosula, and the American species are Auricularia angiospermarum (on broadleaf trees) and Auricularia americana (on conifers). 

I have gone ahead and edited this post to simply refer to the mushroom as Auricularia species, as all the identification features remain the same. 

Auricularia species are better known as the wood ear, jelly ear, or tree ear, it also has an outdated name of jew's ear. In China it's called the black fungus, cloud fungus, black mushroom, or black jelly mushroom. It's widely used as both food and natural medicine, having anti-tumor (anti-cancer), anticoagulant, cholesterol-lowering, and hypoglycemic effects.

As a bonus, it's a fairly easy mushroom to identify, though there are similar looking fungi, they aren't poisonous, and many are actually edible. But, as always, it's your responsibility to make sure you are 100% positive you have a correct identification, by corroborating with several reliable sources and/or local experts.

One note of caution: because of the anticoagulant effects, it's important not to consumer wood ear if you are on blood thinning medications.

Now, on to identification and cooking tips!