Black Bulgar / Summer / Autumn / Inedible
The Black Bulgar (Bulgaria inquinans), also known as Black Jelly Drops, is a distinctive woodland fungus that grows on dead or dying hardwood, particularly oak. Its dark, gelatinous, disc-like fruiting bodies often appear in clusters, giving fallen branches a glossy, almost tar-like appearance. While it may resemble some edible jelly fungi, Black Bulgar is generally considered inedible due to its tough texture and unappealing consistency.
Despite its unpalatable nature, this fungus plays an important role in woodland ecosystems, breaking down decaying wood and recycling nutrients.
Scientific Name
Bulgaria inquinans
Common Names
Black Bulgar, Black Jelly drops, Bachelor’s Buttons, Rubber Buttons
Family
Bulgariaceae
Habitat
They are saprobic and it normally grows on branches and bark of dead oak and hornbeam. It can also be seen growing on ash trees due to ash dieback disease.
Description
An common and easy to identify fungus but unfortunately they are inedible and possibly toxic.
Identifying Features:
Cap:
The cap generally has a diameter between 0.5 and 4 cm. It has a flat top when young but later becomes more cupped. They are more or less disc-shaped. Soft and gelatinous when young and moist, they have a leathery texture when older. These mushrooms generally grow in medium sized clusters.
Pores and tubes:
The under surface is covered in tiny leaf-like scales called squamulose. The colour is almost uniform across the entire fruiting body.
Smell:
No distinct smell.
Spores:
Blackish brown, they will blacken your finger if you rub your finger across them,
Known hazards
They contain a substance called furan coumarin which can absorb ultraviolet radiation, when high-energy ultraviolet radiation is obtained, furan coumarin is destroyed in cells like a “bomb”. They can bind to DNA, hinder normal replication and destroy cell membranes, leading to cell death. During this process, melanin deposits can also be triggered, leading to skin rashes, long blisters and blackening of the skin. One to leave alone then!
Potential lookalikes
They are quite a distinct mushroom but they could be confused with Witches’ Butter (Exidia glandulosa), as it has a similar colour and jelly-like flesh, but it is much softer and has white spore print.
Extra Notes
The scientific species name ‘inquinans’ means polluting, befouling or staining due to the way they can stain your hands when touched.
Black bulgar is the only Bulgaria species known to occur in Britain.
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