Tripe, but you wouldn’t want to eat it

05 Friday Dec 2025

Tags

Auricularia mesenterica, British fungi, fungus, Tripe, Tripe fungus

In fact, you probably wouldn’t want to eat the other form of tripe, the stomach lining of cows, pigs and sheep, either, unless you were desperate, and definitely not if, like me, you’re a vegetarian.

I’ve only ever seen Tripe fungus (Auricularia mesenterica) in a couple of different places before today, so it was good to add a new site to my list.

There’s one particular location I know, where the fungus can be seen year round on the stump of a long dead Elm tree, in summer looking just like a grouping of dried, shrivelled brackets but, in winter, when they’ve rehydrated, plump and hairy like these ones I found today.

The various species of Elm are where Tripe grows most commonly and, though today’s new location was a large fallen tree trunk that could have been any species of tree, I had previously found Wrinkled peach growing on it, another Elm-specific fungus.

It’s Tripe time

07 Friday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in fungi

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Auricularia mesenterica, British fungi, fungi on Elm trees, Tripe, Tripe fungus

At first glance, I thought this was Turkey tail, a common bracket fungus that I’m sure most people are aware of.

220107 tripe (1)

But, when I looked more closely, particularly at the newest growth – those fat, juicy looking little buttons, and also at how furry some of the growth was, I knew my initial impression was wrong. This is Tripe fungus (Auricularia mesenterica).

I couldn’t tell what the wood was as the tree had been sawn off very close to the ground and only a very short section of trunk and some sections of exposed root remained (all of which were covered in fungal growth). But, Tripe fungus grows most commonly on Elm trees so I assume this was an English elm that had succumbed to Dutch elm disease.

322/365 Tripe

18 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature, trees

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Auricularia mesenterica, British fungi, fungi on Elm trees, Tripe, Tripe fungi, Tripe fungus

I’m sure you’ll be relieved to read that, despite its title, this blog has nothing to do with cow intestines. Rather, this is about a fungus, Tripe fungus (Auricularia mesenterica), not the loveliest of fungi but still an interesting find as it’s usually found growing on Elm trees. And Elms are few and far between following their devastation by Dutch Elm disease.

191118 tripe fungus (1)

I found these Tripe on a dead tree in Cogan Wood at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park this morning, in an area where I’ve previously found other fungi specific to Elm trees, so there were obviously several growing there in past days.

191118 tripe fungus (2) 191118 tripe fungus (3)

Fungi Friday: A load of tripe

16 Friday Dec 2016

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature, trees

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Auricularia auricula-judae, Auricularia mesenterica, Dutch Elm disease, Elm tree, Jelly Ear fungus, Tripe fungus

If you’re wondering how the Tripe fungus, Auricularia mesenterica, got its name, well, according to Pat O’Reilly’s most excellent First Nature website, ‘The specific epithet mesenterica is a Latinised adjective derived from the Ancient Greek word mesenterion meaning ‘middle intestine’.’ I checked – he’s not talking tripe! Auricularia comes from the Latin word for ear, a nod to its fleshy ear-like shape. (Fungi fans will notice that it resembles the Jelly Ear fungus, Auricularia auricula-judae, which is in the same genus.)

161215-tripe-fungus-3

This is not a particularly common fungus these days as it usually grows on dead elm trees but, with the devastating effects of Dutch Elm disease, which has killed over 60 million British elm trees, there are now not many elms left, even dead ones. I had first noticed this particularly fungus in one of my local woodlands several months ago when the hot dry summer had left it shrivelled up and unidentifiable but, as soon as the autumn rains came, it almost immediately fleshed out and began creating new growth. It’s very variable in colour, with bands of brown, grey, white or purple on top, and it is a rather odd combination of hairy above and jelly-like below.