Scientific name: Resupinatus applicatus (Batsch)
Gray
Derivation of name: Applicatus means "near" or
"attached" or "close" and probably refers to the absence
of a stipe and the appearence of the cap directly (closely)
attached to the wood.
Synonyms: Pleurotus applicatus (Batsch) P. Kumm.
Common name(s): Black jelly oyster.
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Order: Agaricales
Family: Tricholomataceae
Occurrence on wood substrate: Saprobic; scattered
or in
dense groups on the underside of deciduous logs;
June through
November.
Dimensions: Caps 2-6 mm wide.
Cap: Dark bluish-gray to grayish-black; dry; hairy.
Gills: Arising from point of attachment; whitish at first,
becoming blackish.
Spore print: White.
Stipe: Absent.
Veil: Absent.
Edibility: Unknown.
Comments: These fruitbodies are very tiny and not
likely to
be found unless the
undersides of logs are
searched.

Figure 1. Clusters of black jelly oyster on a log. Photo ©
William Roody.
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Figure 2. A close up of a portion of Figure 1. Photo ©
William Roody.

Figure 3. Note the manner in which the gills radiate from
the point of attachment of the cap to the wood. Photo ©
Dorothy Smullen.
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