Leotia lubrica

[ Ascomycetes > Helotiales > Leotiaceae > Leotia . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

These odd little mushrooms are sometimes called "Jelly Babies," and I keep waiting for Hollywood to make an animated children's feature by that name. The screenplay in my head calls for our hero, Jimmy Jelly, to overcome his humble background and become King of the Moss, casting out the evil Galerinas and making Mossland safe for everyone else. Soon we will see the marketing of Jelly Baby toys and video games, on a scale that puts the Smurfs and Power Rangers to shame. I am going to be rich, I tell you, rich beyond my dreams--and the fungal world will finally get the recognition it deserves.

But first we will have to show the animators the distinctive features of a Jelly Baby, so they can develop accurate characters. Leotia lubrica is rather slimy--on the cap and stem--when fresh. It features a gelatinous, slightly wrinkled, yellowish cap, and a whitish to yellowish, smooth stem that is hollow or filled with jelly. The similar Leotia viscosa has a green cap. Other similar looking mushrooms have dry surfaces and are not gelatinous.

Jelly babies are not inedible--but small pieces of cornbread soaked for a week in lard are not inedible, either.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing gregariously under hardwoods or conifers (often in moss); late spring through fall; widely distributed and common in North America. Occasionally it is found on well-rotted wood--and Smith, Smith & Weber (1981) report a cluster discovered underground, buried in two inches of sand!

Cap: 1-4 cm; variable in shape but more or less convex; convoluted; with a smooth or slightly wrinkled surface; sticky or slimy when fresh, but sometimes drying out; the margin inrolled; buff, brownish yellow, or yellowish. Underside smooth and pale.

Stem: 2-8 cm long; up to 1 cm wide; smooth or finely roughened; more or less equal; sticky or slimy when fresh; colored like the cap or paler; hollow or filled with jelly.

Flesh: Gelatinous when fresh.

Microscopic Features: Spores 16-25 x 4-6 µ; smooth; spindle-shaped; often curved; becoming septate, with 5 to 7 septa at maturity; asci inoperculate.

REFERENCES: Fries, 1822. (Smith, 1949; Mains, 1956; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999.)

Further Online Information:

Leotia lubrica at MykoWeb
Leotia lubrica at Fungi of Poland

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2003, June). Leotia lubrica. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/leotia_lubrica.html