Jew's-ear

See also: Jew's ear

English

Jew's-ear (Auricularia auricula-judae)

Etymology

A mistranslation of mediaeval Latin auricula Judae (“Judas's ear”), from its shape, and its occurrence on the tree on which Judas Iscariot was supposed to have hanged himself.

Noun

Jew's-ear (plural Jew's-ears)

1. A kind of edible fungus, Auricularia auricula-judae, growing on tree-trunks, formerly used for medicinal purposes.
   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, section XIX:

     Hither also may be referr'd those multitudes and varieties of Mushroms, such as that, call'd Jews-ears, all sorts of gray and green Mosses, &c.

   • 1979, Angela Carter, ‘The Erl-King’, The Bloody Chamber, Vintage, published 2006, page 99:

     Over the hearth hang bunches of drying mushrooms, the thin, curling kind they call jew's-ears, which have grown on the elder trees since Judas hanged himself on one; this is the kind of lore he tells me, tempting my half-belief.

Translations

fungus Auricularia auricula-judae

• Chinese:

  Hokkien: 烏木耳／乌木耳 (o͘-bo̍k-ní, o͘-bo̍k-lí, o͘-bo̍k-jí, o͘-bo̍k-jíⁿ)

  Mandarin: 黑木耳 (zh) (hēimù'ěr)

• Czech: ucho Jidášovo (cs) n, boltcovitka ucho Jidášovo (cs) f, boltcovitka bezová f
• Danish: almindelig judasøre
• Finnish: juudaksenkorva
• French: oreille de Judas (fr) f, oreille du diable (fr) f
• Galician: orella de Xudas (gl) m
• German: Judasohr (de) n
• Italian: orecchio di Giuda m
• Korean: 목이 (mogi)
• Macedonian: Јудино уво n (Judino uvo)
• Maori: paheke, hakeka
• Polish: uszak bzowy m
• Russian: Иу́дино у́хо n (Iúdino úxo)
• Slovak: uchovec bazový m
• Spanish: oreja de Judas (es) f
• Vietnamese: mộc nhĩ đen, nấm mèo (vi)