Wood Ear Agar Plate
Wood Ear Agar Plate
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| Species | Auricularia auricula-judae |
| Difficulty ℹ️ | 🍄🍄 |
| Spore Coloration | White |
| Ecology |
Saprotrophic or Parasitic |
| Edibility | Edible |
Auricularia auricula-judae, known as the wood ear, jelly ear, or by a number of other common names, is a species of edible Auriculariales fungus found worldwide. The fruiting body is distinguished by its noticeably ear-like shape and brown colouration; it grows upon wood, especially elder.
Auricularia auricula-judae grows on the wood of deciduous trees and shrubs, particularly Sambucus nigra (elder). It is also common on Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore), Fagus sylvatica (beech), Fraxinus excelsior (ash), Euonymus europaeus (spindle), and in one particular case, the sycamore draining board of an old sink in Hatton Garden. It very rarely grows on conifers. It favours older branches, where it feeds as a saprotroph (on dead wood) or a weak parasite (on living wood), and it causes a white rot.
Commonly growing solitarily, it can also be gregarious (in a group) or caespitose (in a tuft). Spores are ejected from the underside of the fruit bodies with as many as several hundred thousand an hour, and the high rate continues when the bodies have been significantly dried. Even when they have lost some 90% of their weight through dehydration, the bodies continue to release a small number of spores. It is found all year, but is most common in autumn.
Some photos on this page have been sourced from iNaturalist, taken by Michel Langeveld or others. Licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC0.
What Is An Agar Plate?
What Is An Agar Plate?
An agar plate is a petri dish with solidified nutrient solution (I make mine with light malt extract, generally). The dish is sealed with parafilm to keep it sterile while the transfer colonizes the plate.
The mycelial bodies grow on our agar plates in sterile incubators before being shipped to you!
How Do I Store Agar Plates?
How Do I Store Agar Plates?
Keep your agar plates ideally in the fridge, within a ziplock bag. Let them come to room temperature before opening them - it'll prevent condensation!
How Do I Use Agar Plates?
How Do I Use Agar Plates?
Grab your scalpel and get to work! Need a scalpel? Check my gear page!
Slides from agar plates can be propagated onto other mediums very easily. The beauty of agar plates is the ability to be absolutely certain that your sample is healthy and clean!
When Will My Agar Plate Ship?
When Will My Agar Plate Ship?
All of my agar plates are made-to-order. This ensures that you have nothing but the freshest, most voracious mycelium when it gets to your doorstep.
Please check for your individual species on this page to see colonization times.
If you're interested in ordering agar plates and other items like liquid culture, or mushroom spores, you can have your order shipped in two by adding this item!
What Comes In My Package?
What Comes In My Package?
For each agar plate in your order, you'll receive a healthy, colonized agar plate, and an additional piece of parafilm in case you need to reseal it.
What if Something Goes Wrong?
What if Something Goes Wrong?
If you any questions as to the density, sterility or other concerns about your order please email me directly at support@southwesthshroomery.com.
Under no circumstances contact us about cultivation of active spores regardless of legality in your home location. Doing so will result in a cancellation of all open orders and denial of any future orders.
While all of our products are made in the most sterile conditions possible, sometimes contamination happens! I'll make it right!
