Auricular auricular (Auricularia auricula-judae)
Fruit body (diameter 5-11 cm, height 7-9 cm): in shape and size is very similar to the auricle of an adult. In adult fungi, covered with small hairs, may be wrinkled or streaked with veins. Auricularis ovate is any shade of orange or brown, the inner side is usually slightly darker than the outer.
Pulp: transparent to light and very thin. The broken mushroom in the open air quickly wrinkles and hardens.
Doubles: are absent.
When growing: year-round in the northern temperate zone of the Eurasian continent, less common in North America.
Where can I find: in deciduous forests with high humidity. Grows on dead trees. In addition to elderberry, it prefers alder, less often oaks or maples.
Eating: It is not used in domestic culinary, but is highly regarded in the East (in China) as an ingredient in salads and soups. Often sold in dried form. Immediately before cooking, the auricular mushroom is soaked, after which it brightens and increases in size several times.
Application in traditional medicine (The data have not been confirmed and have not passed clinical studies!): Slavic peoples applied fresh fungus to tumors of the tonsils, larynx and tongue. In Asia, hematopoietic and purifying properties are attributed to him. Chinese doctors use auricular auricularia (Auricularia auricula-judae) in the treatment of hypertension and atherosclerosis. It is believed that in powder form, it can dissolve kidney stones and gall bladder and even cure cancerous tumors.
Other names: Judas ear, woody ear, woody jellyfish.
In China, auricular auricularis is called "kikurage" (woody ear) and the popular Black Mushroom soup is prepared from it. To do this, the mushroom is first dried, and slightly soaked before cooking.
They began to call the Judaic ear auricularia because it often grows on an elderberry, on which, according to one version of the biblical legend, Judas, a disciple of Jesus Christ, hanged himself.
