jelly fungus

When it comes to identification these days, mushrooms are murder. Several decades ago, I was actually a pretty competent fungal taxonomist, but in the intervening years when I put most of my efforts into learning new groups of organisms, from birds to flower flies, amphibians to mosses and lichens, I lost track of mushrooms... and the taxonomic rug was pulled out from under what had been secure feet. Blame it on DNA and other molecules: a newly minted understanding of fungal genetics changed the names of just about everything, and when I got back to working with mushrooms, I was, in essence, a taxonomic virgin. All I can say for sure about this one is that it's a kind of Jelly Fungus, a dark, rubbery organism that is happy to do its work throughout the winter. It's either in the Exidia or Tremella congregation, but I'm going to have to invest in a microscope before I'm back on solid taxonomic ground.