Dacryopinax spathularia (Schwein.) G.W. Martin
Fan-shaped jelly fungus
This fungus is a common North American native. Spathul- means “little spade” or “little blade,” a reference to its shape.
Identification: The fruiting bodies are less than ⅞″ (2.5 cm) tall, growing in clusters or rows along cracks in decaying wood; often the wood has lost its bark. Each fruiting body has a curved fan-like shape, thin in cross-section and widening toward the top. They are translucent and bright yellow-orange in color, and are gelatinous to the touch.
Edibility: Edible. Used occasionally in Chinese cuisine. But these can be confused with inedible species, so don’t try them if you are not certain of their identity.
Online References:
References:
10/16/2018 · Worcester Road Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire, United States 
9/26/2011 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 4″ (13 × 9.9 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
8/29/2023 · Stetser Preserve, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3½″ (11 × 9.7 cm) 
8/5/2018 · ≈ 6 × 5″ (15 × 13 cm) 
9/11/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3 × 1¾″ (8 × 4.9 cm) 
10/6/2018 · Marble Hill Conservation Area, Stow, Massachusetts 
11/6/2016 · Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Massachusetts · ≈ 2½ × 1¾″ (6.9 × 4.8 cm) 
9/18/2017 · Purgatory Falls, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) 
9/26/2011 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 3 × 3″ (8.3 × 7.8 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/26/2011 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 2½ × 2½″ (6.4 × 6.6 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/15/2018 · Oak Hill, Littleton, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
| Roughly 75 people in North America are poisoned each year by mushrooms, often from eating a poisonous species that resembles an edible species. Though deaths are rare, there is no cure short of a liver transplant for severe poisoning. Don’t eat any mushroom unless you are absolutely certain of its identity! Please don’t trust the identifications on this site. We aren’t mushroom experts and we haven’t focused on safely identifying edible species. |
Dacryopinax spathularia description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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