**2.5** *Auricularia auricula* **and** *Arabis polytricha*

Commonly referred to as Jew's Ear that according to folklore is linked to Judas Iscariot, the biblical story of his betrayal of Jesus Christ, who later committed suicide *Medicinal Mushroom of Potential Pharmaceutical Toxic Importance: Contribution… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.103845*

**Figure 3.** Tremella fuciformis *(Snow Fungus) [46].*

**Figure 4.** Ganoderma lucidum *[22].*

by hanging on an elder tree. The ear-like shape of the mushroom is linked to the returned spirit of Judas, which serves as a reminder of his betrayal [27, 50]. This species is widely distributed in the temperate zones as opposed to *A. polytricha* that is located in the sub-tropical to tropical regions. The other species have a variety of common names, however, all of them contain the word "ear" in their name due to

**Figure 5.** *Morphology of* Auricularia polytricha *(Pepieau) [42].*

the fact that they have ear-shaped basidiocarp, as shown in **Figure 5** [50]. In Hawaii, for example, the species is referred to as the "pepeiao," the Hawaiian name for the ear. Both species belong to the Basidiomycota known as the "jelly fungi" due to the consistency of their fruiting body [51].

Both species in China, have been used in folk medicine for the past thousands of years for the treatment of hemorrhoids and as a stomach tonic [52]. In Europe, *A. auricula* is traditionally used in a boiled liquid form for the treatment of inflammation of the throat and eye irritation. Studies have also shown more evidence of *A. auricula* wide use for the improvement of the immune system [53]. The potential uses in the lowering of blood cholesterol, as an anticoagulant and potential anti-diabetic activity has been demonstrated [54].
