Wild Tremella fuciformis (Snow Fungus), Western Ghats
Wild jelly fungus documented growing on Western Ghats hardwood in Karnataka, harvested as the prized 'snow fungus' used in East Asian tonics and desserts.
| Origin | Karnataka, India |
| Indian subcontinent | Yes |
| Category | Fungi & Functional Mycology |
| Retail price band | India retail/trade extract listings run ₹1,200–₹6,150/kg (IndiaMART); international dried whole-fungus retail (e.g. Vitanics Bio) runs roughly €60–€120/kg equivalent for premium dried whole fruiting bodies. |
| Bulk / trade price band | Bulk HDPE-drum-packed Tremella extract trades around ₹1,200/kg (Indore); higher-purity extract lots reach ₹6,150/kg (Ahmedabad) — true wild (non-log-cultivated) Western Ghats material was not found separately priced. |
| Sourcing status | Dossier researched from public sources — producer contact not yet established |
| Compliance status | Preliminary review complete (see below) — not yet legally verified |
Detailed study
Tremella fuciformis is a parasitic jelly fungus that grows on the mycelium of a wood-decay host fungus on dead hardwood; in China it is almost entirely log-cultivated rather than wild-collected. Peer-reviewed Indian mycology work ('Jelly Mushrooms Documented from Western Ghats of Karnataka', Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology) confirms wild Tremellaceae, including jelly fungi, occur in Western Ghats forests, supporting the plausibility of the stated origin.
Provenance & producer
The cited Western Ghats macrofungal diversity surveys (Karnataka) are academic documentation projects, not commercial harvest operations — no commercial wild-collection cooperative for Tremella fuciformis in Karnataka was found. Given that wild fruiting is naturally scarce, a genuinely wild-sourced supply chain at commercial volume would need dedicated forest-forager sourcing.
Market & pricing
Indian trade prices for Tremella extract run roughly ₹1,200–₹6,150/kg; retail whole dried fungus internationally trades in the €60–€120/kg-equivalent range. No India-specific 'wild, Western Ghats' premium price point was found.
Compliance & export
Fungi are outside CITES scope. Tremella fuciformis has long-standing food-use history in China and is broadly accepted as a traditional food ingredient in the EU, though standardised polysaccharide extracts should be checked individually. In India, wild collection from Western Ghats reserve/protected forest areas would fall under state forest department rules for non-timber forest produce.
Sources
- Jelly Mushrooms Documented from Western Ghats of Karnataka (India)
- Tremella fuciformis — Wikipedia
- Tremella Fuciformis Mushroom Extract, ₹1,200/kg (IndiaMART, Indore)
- Dried Tremella Fuciformis, Vitanics Bio (international retail benchmark)
Image status
A working reference photograph is in place, captured from a freely-licensed Wikimedia Commons source (source file). Tremella fuciformis (snow fungus) fruiting body on wood, chrisclarke25, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Note: photographed location not documented as the Western Ghats specifically; illustrative of the species' wild growth form generally. Treat this as a placeholder for marketing purposes: exact licence terms should be re-verified on the Commons file page, and original producer photography is recommended before final trade use.