I found this fungus at Empire Lakes. I was walking along the trail and my brother found it for me. It was growing on a decaying Douglas Fir branch, I think. My papa says he thinks it is Douglas Fir, too.The Orange Jelly fungus belongs to a family called Dacrymycetales. It is probably one of my favorite fungi. It lives mostly in moist climates, for example the Pacific Northwest Coast. It is edible, best steamed or boiled.
I learned that Dacrymycetales palmatus is very similar to two other jelly fungi, Tremella aurantia and Tremella mesenterica but those are usually more yellow and grow on hardwood trees which still have their bark, instead of dead conifers. A year ago, we went on a family hike in the Trinity Mountains and we saw what I think now is Tremella growing on a pine tree.
I'm trying to do this science experiment and I need a special slime mold, but unfortunately this is not the one that I need. So I ordered a kit from Carolina Biological, and I just got it in the mail yesterday. It was really exciting and the mold has already grown a lot.
This is my first submission to the Outdoor Hour Challenges at Handbook of Nature Study.
