Tremella

Tremella is a genus of fungi in the family Tremellaceae. All Tremella species are parasites of other fungi and most produce anamorphic yeast states. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies), when produced, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi". Over 100 species of Tremella are currently recognized worldwide. Two species, Tremella fuciformis and Tremella aurantialba, are commercially cultivated for food.

Taxonomy

History

Tremella was one of the original genera created by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum of 1753. The name comes from the Latin tremere meaning "to tremble". Linnaeus placed Tremella in the algae, including within it a variety of gelatinous growths, including seaweeds, cyanobacteria, and myxomycetes, as well as fungi. Subsequent authors added additional species to this mix, until Persoon revised Tremella in 1794 and 1801, repositioning the genus within the fungi.

Persoon's reinterpretation of Tremella was sufficiently radical to be considered a separate genus (Tremella Pers.) from that originally created by Linnaeus (Tremella L.). Tremella Pers. has now been conserved under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, with Tremella mesenterica as the type species.