Hairy wood ear

Overview

Auricularia cornea is a gelatinous fungus that grows on wood. It is called the hairy wood ear in English, and its common names in the catalogue include wood ear and cloud ear. The catalogue also records the Māori name hakeke for New Zealand material.

The species is a wood-decay fungus. Its fruiting bodies are soft and rubbery, and the texture is described as slippery but slightly crunchy. The taste is mild.

Name and taxonomy

Auricularia cornea was often misidentified as A. polytricha in the older literature. The catalogue notes that the Asian cultivation name A. polytricha is frequently misapplied, and that true A. polytricha belongs with A. nigricans.

Sources on Congolese and Asian species may use older names, so any species list should be checked against current taxonomy before the name is used for a food claim.

Habitat and ecology

The catalogue describes the species as a forest saprotroph that grows on decaying wood in tropical forests. A 2018 ethnomycology study of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports that the local food species it names, including A. cornea, are all wood-decaying saprotrophs.

Food use

In Tshopo, local people use wild mushrooms for food. A 2018 study of traditional knowledge from Tshopo province records 73 wild mushroom species used locally, 68 of them for food, and names A. cornea among five species that are mostly appreciated for food. The study does not give a separate use value for A. cornea, and the catalogue records that the species-specific preparation was not established.

In China, the species is cultivated for food and is usually sold dried. Dried pieces need to be soaked in water before use. Descriptions of Chinese cooking call it edible but tasteless, valued for its texture. In New Zealand, the catalogue records culinary use and a historic dried export to China under the Māori name hakeke.

Cultivation and supply

The catalogue records the supply as wild, unknown and widely cultivated. Cultivation is documented in China, where the species is grown for the dried food market. The catalogue does not give a cultivation method for A. cornea specifically.

Safety and identification

The catalogue describes the food-use records as ethnomycological evidence rather than an independent toxicological assessment. Documented occurrence and consumption do not establish a standardised food-safety assessment for the species.

Confusion with other Auricularia species, and with older names, means identity should be confirmed by a specialist. The records here do not establish a safe preparation method for wild material.