Oriental pig-ear fungus

Identity and name

Gomphus orientalis is known as the oriental pig-ear fungus. It belongs to a genus of vase- or club-shaped fungi related to the chanterelles, and the catalogue records it as an ectomycorrhizal forest fungus. The catalogue retains the published regional identification and states that contemporary taxonomy still needs species-level review.

The catalogue also lists Turbinellus floccosus under the synonym Gomphus floccosus. That name is not this species, and it has conflicting edibility reports (see safety).

Habitat and supply

The fungus grows in forest as a mycorrhizal partner of trees. The catalogue records the supply as wild. Cultivation is not recorded.

Market and food use

The catalogue describes G. orientalis as a marketed vase-shaped mushroom in Yunnan. A 2022 ethnomycology study of wild mushrooms in Pu'er Prefecture recorded local names, habitat, fruiting time, price, cooking and preservation practices for wild edible mushrooms; the species-level details for this name were not confirmed in the sources reviewed, so no preparation is given here.

Safety and limits

Identification and safety: a name, a photograph or one regional guide does not confirm that a wild specimen is this species. This page is not a collection key. Edibility statements refer to the named species as understood by each source, not any particular specimen. The catalogue marks the local safety as unresolved and requires species-level review. A German-language overview of Chinese market mushrooms flags Gomphus species as suspicious; the species-level assignment was not confirmed in the source. Turbinellus floccosus, which some sources file as Gomphus floccosus, has conflicting edibility and gastrointestinal-poisoning reports. Nothing here establishes that G. orientalis is safe to eat.