Witch's Butter

Name:

Tremella Mensenterica (A.K.A. Witch's Butter)

Description:

Looks kind of like marmalade on a log. If you poke it with a pin the inner juices will pour out. Is more yellow in color.

Comments:

Legend has it that this is called Witch's Butter because if you found it on your walk way, it ment you were under the hex of a witch. The only way to break the spell was to poke it with a pin to let the juice run out, killing the fungi. It devolps on hardwood that still have the bark. They are parasitic on wood decay fungi, like Stereum or Aleurodiscus. There is a second type of fungi that is also known as Witch's Butter called Dacrymyces palmatus, which is more orange in color and gorows on dead pine trees with the bark stripped off. Both varieties are edible only after they have been steamed and boiled. Can be found over North America, Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia from May to November. For a more detailed and fun account of this mushroom, visit Tom Volk's Fungus.