Common Jellyspot - Dacrymyces stillatus

We've been having beautiful weather here in Cardiff, and whilst it's been lovely to sit and eat lunch in the garden, it hasn't been the best conditions for mushrooms. So, when it rained for an entire day yesterday, I was excited at the prospect of finding more fungi. And as I ventured out with a friend today, fungi were exactly what I found.

Dotted around on dead wood were lots of Common Jellyspot, or Dacrymyces stillatus.

Yellow or orange in colour and shaped like round blobs, Common Jellyspot grows on dead wood throughout the year. As the name suggests, if you touch it, it has a jelly-like consistency.

It is quite common for multiple blobs to fuse together to form bigger, more abstract shapes.

Characteristics

Habitat: On dead wood, including fences
Fruit body: 2-5mm across, yellow to orange in colour, in small blobs which often merge. Gelatinous to touch but harder when dry.
Spore print: White
Season: All year
Edibility: Inedible

Now you know what it looks like, you can always be ready for this jelly!

Disclaimer: I am not an expert. Never eat a mushroom you've found without confirmation that it is edible by an expert.

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