Brown Witch's Butter: Tremella foliacea

Sporocarp
Fruiting body 5-15 cm broad, globose to cushion-shaped, a mass of ruffled, leaf-like blades fused to a common base; surface viscid in wet weather, otherwise moist, individual blades variously wrinkled to folded, upper and lower surfaces fertile; color: dull brownish-vinaceous to cinnamon-brown, darkening in age; context thin, somewhat translucent, rubbery; odor and taste mild.

Spores
Spores 7-8.5 x 6-8.5 µm, subglobose to oval, smooth, nonamyloid; spores cream to pale-yellowish in deposit; basidia longitudinally septate.

Habitat
Usually solitary on downed hardwood logs and branches; fruiting from mid to late winter.

Edibility
Edible; lacking in flavor, sometimes used in soups.

Comments
Fruiting bodies of Tremella foliacea can grow to startling proportions, softball size or larger, a spectacular find for collectors used to seeing small globs of Yellow Witches Butter (Tremella mesenterica and Dacrymces palmatus).Although unlikely to be confused with other jellys, large specimens resemble somewhat Sparassis crispa, a member of the coral fungi group. The latter, however, has a much firmer texture, is ochraceous, not brown, and usually grows at the base of conifers, not directly on wood.