Wood Ear fungus, Tree Ear fungus, cloud ear, black fungus, ear fungus, Jew’s ear
kikurage (Japanese), mo-er/mu-ehr (and other Chinese variations)
(Auricularia polytricha or A. auricula-judae or Hirneola auricula-judae) Strictly speaking, “wood ear” refers to just one species, Auricularia polytricha, but the term is used to cover several in the Auricularia genus of fungi. Its name is a result of its appearance, which looks like the human ear. According to records from China around 600 CE, this fungus is acknowledged as being the first to be cultivated. While the true wood ear and others grow wild on living and dead elder, beech, and sycamore throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, they are not considered an important food. By the late 1800s, New Zealand had established a significant export trade to China, where it was use asd both food and medicine. The fungus has been used for centuries as a blood purifier and as a tonic for lung infections and stomach upsets. In appearance, its cap is floppy-firm, whorled, and a very dark brownish-purple and can range from the size of a button to that of a saucer. Every species looks different, with some exhibiting colours of licorice to charcoal, translucent and shiny, matte and opaque, slick to granular and, if that is not enough, the two sides can be the same or different. Valued in Chinese cooking, crunchy black slices of this mushroom are often found in hot and sour soups. When dried, it will keep indefinitely and when reconstituted, will expand to three or four times its size. Fresh wood ears are sometimes available and can be added to salads, soups, or stir fries.
