Auricularia cornea, also known as cloud ear, is a species of fungus in the order Auriculariales. It is commercially cultivated in China, being a popular ingredient in many Chinese dishes and used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Taxonomy

Auricularia cornea was originally described from Hawaii (Oahu) by German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1820. It was accepted as a distinct species by Bernard Lowy in his 1952 world monograph of Auricularia

Common names

The species is one of several gelatinous fungi known as wood ear, wood fungus, ear fungus, or tree ear fungus, alluding to their rubbery, ear-shaped fruitbodies.

In Hawaii it is known as pepeiao, which means "ear", while in Chinese cooking it is often referred to as "black treasure".

Description

The fruit bodies are solitary or clustered, ear-shaped, laterally attached to wood, sometimes by a very short stalk, elastic, gelatinous, pale brown to reddish brown, rarely white, up to wide and 2 mm thick. The upper surface is densely hairy and the lower surface is smooth.

Microscopically, the hairs on the upper surface are thick-walled, 180–425 × 6–9 μm. The basidia are cylindrical, hyaline, three-septate, 60–75 × 4–6 μm. The spores are hyaline, allantoid (sausage-shaped), and 14–16.5 × 4.5–6 μm.

Auricularia cornea is usually sold in dried form, and needs to be soaked in water before use. While almost tasteless, it is prized for its slippery but slightly crunchy texture, and its potential nutritional benefits. The slight crunchiness persists despite most cooking processes. Auricularia cornea is coarser than A. heimuer, and is more likely to be used in soups rather than stir fries.

Māori traditionally cooked wood ear fungus by steaming in an earth oven and eating with sow thistle and potatoes. From the 1870s to the 1950s, the fungus was collected and exported from New Zealand to China.

  • Black Fungus
  • Chinese Cuisine - Cloud Ears and Wood Ears