About Phaeotremella foliacea (Pers.) Wedin, J.C.Zamora & Millanes
Fruit bodies of Phaeotremella foliacea are gelatinous, brown to dark brown, and grow up to 5 cm (2 in) across. Their overall appearance is seaweed-like, formed of branched, undulating fronds. Microscopically, the species has clamped hyphae that grow within a dense gelatinous matrix. Haustorial cells develop on these hyphae, producing filaments that attach to and penetrate the hyphae of its host. Its basidia are tremelloid, meaning they are globose to ellipsoid with oblique to vertical septa, and measure 12 to 18 by 10 to 14 μm. They are usually unstalked. Its basidiospores are mostly ellipsoid, smooth, and measure 5.5 to 9.5 by 4.5 to 8.5 μm. Basidiospores can germinate either through a hyphal tube or by producing yeast cells. Phaeotremella foliacea acts as a parasite of Stereum sanguinolentum, growing on the host's hyphae inside wood rather than on the host's own fruit bodies. In alignment with its host preference, fruit bodies of P. foliacea are typically found on dead, attached or recently fallen branches of conifers. This species is currently known to occur in North America, Europe, and northern Asia.
