{"id":91436,"date":"2025-03-18T16:55:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T16:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/?p=91436"},"modified":"2025-04-18T12:42:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T11:42:57","slug":"black-bulgar-identification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/03\/18\/black-bulgar-identification\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Bulgar (Bulgaria inquinans) Identification"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><b>Black Bulgar \/ Summer \/ Autumn \/ Inedible\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-91436 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/03\/18\/black-bulgar-identification\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-kelly\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-93503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-900x1200.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-93503'>\n\t\t\t\tblack bulgar, close up-forager Kelly\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/03\/18\/black-bulgar-identification\/black-bulgar-growing-on-a-log-forager-kelly\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-93504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-900x1200.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-93504'>\n\t\t\t\tblack bulgar growing on a log-forager Kelly\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/03\/18\/black-bulgar-identification\/black-bulgar-large-group-growing-on-a-log-forager-kelly\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-large-group-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-93505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-large-group-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-large-group-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-large-group-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-large-group-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-large-group-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly-900x1200.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-large-group-growing-on-a-log-forager-Kelly.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-93505'>\n\t\t\t\tblack bulgar growing on a log-forager Kelly\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/03\/18\/black-bulgar-identification\/black-bulgar-small-group-forager-kelly\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-small-group-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-93506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-small-group-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-small-group-forager-Kelly-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-small-group-forager-Kelly-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-small-group-forager-Kelly-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-small-group-forager-Kelly-900x1200.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-small-group-forager-Kelly.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-93506'>\n\t\t\t\tblack bulgar growing on a log-forager Kelly\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/03\/18\/black-bulgar-identification\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-91439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-91439'>\n\t\t\t\tBj\u00f6rn S&#8230;, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/03\/18\/black-bulgar-identification\/black-bulgar-shot-of-an-individual-fruiting-body\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-an-individual-fruiting-body-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-91441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-an-individual-fruiting-body-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-an-individual-fruiting-body-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-an-individual-fruiting-body.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-91441'>\n\t\t\t\tBj\u00f6rn S&#8230;, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>The Black Bulgar (Bulgaria inquinans), also known as Black Jelly Drops, is a distinctive woodland fungus that grows on dead or dying hardwood, particularly Oak. Its dark, gelatinous, disc-like fruiting bodies often appear in clusters, giving fallen branches a glossy, almost tar-like appearance. While it may resemble some edible jelly fungi, Black Bulgar is generally considered inedible due to its tough texture and unappealing consistency.<\/p>\n<p>Despite its unpalatable nature, this fungus plays an important role in woodland ecosystems, breaking down decaying wood and recycling nutrients.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Scientific Name<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bulgaria inquinans<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Common Names<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black Bulgar, Black Jelly drops, Bachelor&#8217;s Buttons, Rubber Buttons<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Family<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bulgariaceae<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Habitat<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are saprobic and it normally grows on branches and bark of dead <a href=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2020\/11\/11\/1-identify-oak-trees\/\">Oak<\/a> and Hornbeam. It can also be seen growing on Ash trees due to Ash dieback disease. <\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Description<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An common and easy to identify fungus but unfortunately they are inedible and possibly toxic.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Identifying Features:\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Cap:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The\u00a0cap\u00a0generally has a diameter between 0.5 and 4 cm. It has a flat top when young but later becomes more cupped. They are more or less disc-shaped. Soft and gelatinous when young and moist, they have a leathery texture when older. These mushrooms generally grow in medium sized clusters.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_93503\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93503\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-93503 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"black bulgar on wood\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly-900x1200.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-close-up-forager-Kelly.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-93503\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">black bulgar, close up-forager Kelly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>Pores and tubes:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The under surface is covered in tiny leaf-like scales described as squamulose. The colour is almost uniform across the entire fruiting body.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_91439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-91439\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-91439\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/black-bulgar-shot-of-a-small-group.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-91439\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bj\u00f6rn S&#8230;, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>Smell:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No distinct smell.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>Spores:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blackish brown, they will blacken your finger if you rub your finger across them,<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Known hazards<\/b><\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They contain a substance called furanocoumarin which can absorb ultraviolet radiation, when high-energy ultraviolet radiation is obtained, furanocoumarin is destroyed in cells like a &#8220;bomb&#8221;. They can bind to DNA, hinder normal replication and destroy cell membranes, leading to cell death. During this process, melanin deposits can also be triggered, leading to skin rashes, long blisters and blackening of the skin. One to leave alone then!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Potential lookalikes<\/b><\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are quite a distinct mushroom but they could be\u00a0 confused with Witches\u2019 Butter (Exidia glandulosa), as it has a similar colour and jelly-like flesh, but it is much softer and has white spore print.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Extra Notes<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scientific species name \u2018inquinans\u2019\u00a0means polluting, befouling or staining due to the way they can stain your hands when touched.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black Bulgar is the only Bulgaria species known to occur in Britain.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>References:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/foraging-mushrooms-guide\/\">Foraging Mushrooms Guide<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.first-nature.com\/fungi\/bulgaria-inquinans.php\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>https:\/\/www.first-nature.com\/fungi\/bulgaria-inquinans.php<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.echemi.com\/cms\/72289.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>https:\/\/www.echemi.com\/cms\/72289.html<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black Bulgar \/ Summer \/ Autumn \/ Inedible\u00a0 The Black Bulgar (Bulgaria inquinans), also known as Black Jelly Drops, is a distinctive woodland fungus that grows on dead or dying hardwood, particularly Oak. Its dark, gelatinous, disc-like fruiting bodies often appear in clusters, giving fallen branches a glossy, almost tar-like&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":91442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1778,1781,114,88,1777],"tags":[239,1949,1945,1948,1946,1947,499,1950,238],"class_list":["post-91436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autumn","category-inedible","category-mushroom-identification","category-mushrooms","category-summer","tag-autumn","tag-bachelors-buttons","tag-black-bulgar","tag-black-jelly-drops","tag-bulgaria-inquinans","tag-bulgariaceae","tag-inedible","tag-rubber-buttons","tag-summer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91436"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124046,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91436\/revisions\/124046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}