Auricularia heimuer
species of fungus
Auricularia heimuer, also known as heimuer (Chinese: 黑木耳; pinyin: hēimù'ěr), black wood ear or cloud ear, is a species of fungus in the order Auriculariales. It is commercially cultivated for food in China at a value exceeding $4 billion (USD) per year. The species was previously referred to as the European Auricularia auricula-judae, but the latter is not known to occur in East Asia. Auricularia heimuer is a popular ingredient in many Chinese dishes, such as hot and sour soup, and it is also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Description
Fruitbodies are gelatinous, ear-shaped, and laterally attached to wood. They are up to 12 centimetres (4+3⁄4 inches) across and 1.5 mm (1⁄16 in) thick. The upper surface is finely tomentose, coloured fawn to reddish brown when fresh, and coloured grey-brown when dry. The colour of cultivated specimens is often darker. The spore-producing underside is smooth to slightly veined, coloured pinkish buff when fresh, and coloured purplish grey when dry.
Microscopic features
The basidia are cylindrical, 40–65 x 3–6.5 μm, with three transverse septa.
The public source identifies “Auricularia heimuer” as species of fungus. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Auricularia, heimuer and species.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q107506789. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Auricularia heimuer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.