Snow fungus: a white, translucent jelly fungus with branching, seaweed-like fronds. It parasitizes Annulohypoxylon (possibly Hypoxylon) fungi on dead broadleaf branches and is widely cultivated in China for sweet soups and desserts.
Edible. Used mainly in sweet dishes for its gelatinous texture rather than flavour, such as Chinese dessert soups with jujubes and dried longans and Vietnamese chè; also in drinks, ice cream and some savoury dishes.
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Habitat
On dead branches of broadleaf trees, where it parasitizes Annulohypoxylon (possibly Hypoxylon) species; it grows as a yeast until it meets its host. Commercially grown on sawdust in dual culture with its host.
Distribution
Mainly tropical and subtropical, extending into temperate Asia and North America; reported from southern and eastern Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean, Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand.
Characteristics
Fruit body: Gelatinous, white and translucent, up to 7 cm across in the wild (larger in cultivation), made of erect, branching, seaweed-like fronds often crisped at the edges. Basidia: 10–13 × 6.5–10 µm. Spores: 5–8 × 4–6 µm, smooth, ellipsoid.
Difficulty
Advanced
Substrates
Sawdust mix co-inoculated with Annulohypoxylon archeri · Wooden poles (traditional)
