What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

A Beautiful Blob

This beautiful blob was photographed recently near our office. What is it? Bonus points will be given for telling us what it’s doing.

Answer

This blob is the fruiting body of witch’s butter, Tremella mesenterica or Tremella aurantia. Both of these species grow on decaying hardwood. A catch, though, is that witch’s butter is not decomposing dead wood, it’s parasitizing other fungi that are decomposing the dead wood. Witch’s butter can be found throughout the year during wet weather. It shrivels up when dry, but will resume its gelatinous form after the next rain.

This week’s contest winner was Arianna Alexsandra Grindrod of Ashfield, MA.