Black Witch’s Butter & Warlock’s Butter: Identification, Edibility, and Lookalikes

Finding black gelatinous blobs scattered across dead logs can be a little unsettling. They’re slimy and a bit gross, like someone dropped grape jelly on a branch or tried to coat it in tar. There are two species of black jelly-like fungi, appropriately named black witch’s butter (Exidia glandulosa) and warlock’s butter (Exidia nigricans). These two relatives look a lot alike and can easily be confused, but there are some key differences between the two when you look closely.