Pseudotremella moriformis
species of fungus
Pseudotremella moriformis is a species of fungus in the family Bulleraceae. It produces dark purple, pustular, gelatinous basidiocarps (fruit bodies) and is parasitic on pyrenomycetous fungi (Diaporthe species) on dead herbaceous stems and wood. It was originally described from England.
Taxonomy and etymology
As Tremella moriformis, the species was originally described from Surrey in 1812 by English naturalists James Edward Smith and James Sowerby. It remained in Tremella until 2015 when molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, showed that it was only distantly related to this genus and belonged instead to the newly proposed Pseudotremella in the family Bulleraceae.
Tremella atroglobosa, described from Brazil, and T. colorata, described from the US, are widely considered synonyms of T. moriformis.
The Latin epithet "moriformis" means "mulberry-shaped", with reference to both the shape and colour of typical fruit bodies.
Description
Fruit bodies are gelatinous, dark purple-black, pustular, up to 0.5 cm across, but sometimes becoming larger (up to 1.5 cm across) and cerebriform (brain-like) through confluence. They emerge from the perithecia of their host. Microscopically, the basidia are tremelloid (globose to ellipsoid, with vertical or oblique septa), 2 to 4-celled, 15 to 22 by 14 to 20 μm.
The public source identifies “Pseudotremella moriformis” as species of fungus. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Pseudotremella, moriformis and species.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Pseudotremella moriformis”, the useful work is to connect “species of fungus” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q54371454. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1812 and 2015.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pseudotremella moriformis” 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.