Ashen Coral (Tremellodendropsis tuberosa)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Fungus or lichen > fungus > Fungus |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Tremellodendropsis tuberosa |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Grev.) D.A. Crawford |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Assessed as Vulnerable (2006) - Widespread but only a handful of sites. Last recorded in England 11 years ago. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Without evidence of the current national status of this species it will be very difficult to assess if there are any other species-specific actions required for its conservation; or if it is need of conservation at all. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | There is no evidence that an increase in the structural diversity of the habitat will directly benefit this species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | A small coral-like fungus known from a variety of habitats (including rootstocks of Meadowsweet in fens). Autoecology not fully understood. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: An assessment of the necessary national species records should be made according to IUCN guidelines to provide a recognised redlist status criteria for this species.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: As no IUCN recognised assessment exists for this species, this action should be prioritised.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Undertake research into the autecology of the species. It is usually found in the litter of mixed woodland floors and a variety of other habitats, but it is not clear that this is a saprotroph of that substrate. Research should be attempting to discover any other associations, requirements, feeding strategies and pressures.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: The results of this action may influence a new set of actions needed to support the recovery of this species, and a flexible approach may be needed to allow for those..
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Once the autecology of this species is understood (see previous action), relevant guidance and advice should be provided to land managers of existing and suitable nearby sites to maximise the potential for recovery of this species under beneficial habitat management.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: The findings of the previous action may make this action obsolete, or at least make a different action a priority for recovery.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.