Appearance
Fruit bodies are gelatinous, pale to dark brown, sometimes purple-brown to almost black, up to 20 cm across, and seaweed-like . Microscopically, the hyphae are clamped and occur in a dense gelatinous matrix. Haustorial cells arise on the hyphae, producing filaments that attach to and penetrate the hyphae of the host. The basidia are tremelloid , 10 to 19 by 8 to 14 μm, usually unstalked. The basidiospores are mostly ellipsoid, smooth, 6.5 to 10 by 4.5 to 8 μm, and germinate by hyphal tube or by yeast cells.Naming
''Tremella foliacea'' is variable and may represent a complex of similar species across its range. Chen described three new species in the "foliacea" group, based on microscopic differences and on DNA sequencing: ''Tremella vasifera'' from Germany and ''T. fuscosuccinea'' and ''T. neofoliacea'' from Taiwan. ''Tremella coffeicolor'' , originally described from Bermuda, is similar, but has larger basidia and spores. It is also known from the Azores, the Caribbean islands, and South America.Distribution
''Tremella foliacea'' is a parasite of ''Stereum'' species , growing on the host's hyphae in the wood rather than on the host's fruit bodies. Following its hosts, fruit bodies of ''T. foliacea'' are typically found on dead, attached or recently fallen branches of broadleaf trees and conifers.The species has a cosmopolitan distribution and is known from North & South America, Europe, northern Asia, north Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Habitat
''Tremella foliacea'' is a parasite of ''Stereum'' species , growing on the host's hyphae in the wood rather than on the host's fruit bodies. Following its hosts, fruit bodies of ''T. foliacea'' are typically found on dead, attached or recently fallen branches of broadleaf trees and conifers.The species has a cosmopolitan distribution and is known from North & South America, Europe, northern Asia, north Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
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