The class Heterobasidiomycetes or jelly fungi is a paraphyletic group of several fungal orders: Tremellales, Auriculariales, Dacrymycetales. These fungi are so named because their foliose to irregularly branched fruiting body is, or appears to be, the consistency of jelly. Actually, many are somewhat rubbery and gelatinous. When dried, jelly fungi become hard and shriveled; when exposed to water, they return to their original form.
