Longshan Wild Wood Ear

Longshan Wild Wood Ear

　　Black wood ear is a highly nutritious edible fungus and a traditional health food and export commodity in China. It has many aliases: it grows on decaying wood and resembles a human ear, hence the name "wood ear"; it also stands upright like a moth or butterfly, earning the name "wood moth"; due to its chicken-like delicious taste, it is also called "tree chicken" or "wood machine" (in ancient southern Chu, "machine" referred to chicken); double-layered wood ears overlap on trees like floating clouds, hence they are also known as "cloud ear." The two main types of wood ear commonly consumed are: one with a smooth ventral side, black in color, and a gray or grayish-brown fuzzy back, known as hairy wood ear (commonly referred to as wild wood ear); the other is smooth on both sides, dark brown, and semi-transparent, known as glossy wood ear. Hairy wood ear is larger but has a coarse and tough texture, is hard to chew, tastes inferior, and is inexpensive. Glossy wood ear is soft, flavorful, smooth and refreshing, highly nutritious, and is commonly cultivated in large quantities—this book refers to black wood ear as glossy wood ear.