Tremella (Tremella fuciformis) is a white, jelly-like mushroom that grows on dead hardwood in tropical and subtropical forests. Known as snow fungus or silver ear, it has been eaten in China for centuries, and it is the mushroom most closely tied to Chinese beauty lore.
It has very little flavour of its own and a soft, jelly-like texture. Most people take Tremella as an extract powder stirred into a drink, or cook the whole dried mushroom into sweet soups, and it is the mushroom our customers reach for when they want a small daily ritual with their skin in mind.
Cultural use
Tremella is a white jelly fungus, sold in English as snow fungus, silver ear or white jelly fungus. In China it is yin er, the 'silver ear'. It has been eaten there for centuries, and a 2025 review traces its first written mention to the Shennong Bencao Jing, the classic Chinese materia medica.
For most of that time it was a luxury. Wild Tremella is small and scarce, and for centuries nobody could grow it, so only royalty and the very rich could afford it. That changed when growers learned that Tremella depends on a second fungus that rots the wood. The two are now grown together on sawdust.
In Chinese herbal tradition Tremella was prized as a tonic for the stomach and lungs, and it has a long reputation in skin care. Popular legend credits it with the complexion of the Tang dynasty consort Yang Guifei. In the kitchen it is still best known as a dessert, soaked and then simmered into a sweet soup.
Modern herbal use
Tremella is a newcomer to Western herbalism. It is grouped with the tonic mushrooms, taken steadily over weeks and months, and is often called the beauty mushroom.
People build it into the daily routine: a serve of extract powder stirred into tea, a smoothie or a matcha, or the whole mushroom cooked into a soup or dessert. Tremella that has spoiled has been linked to food poisoning outbreaks in China, so cooks soak the dried mushroom in fresh water and use it the same day.
Tremella's polysaccharides have been widely studied in the laboratory, including for skin. A 2023 review in the Archives of Dermatological Research found that most of this work was done in cells and animals, and called for clinical research in people. Trials in people are few and small. So we describe how it is used, not what it will do.
How it's used
Tremella is taken in three main ways.
Powder in a drink. An extract powder stirred into hot water, tea, a smoothie or plant milk. It has very little flavour, so it disappears into most drinks. Follow the directions on the label for the amount.
Tremella Matcha. A ready blend of Tremella and matcha, made up like any matcha. It contains caffeine from the matcha. Follow the directions on the label.
Soups and desserts. The whole dried mushroom is soaked in fresh water until it swells and softens, then simmered into a sweet soup or dessert. Cook it the day it is soaked.
Tremella is usually taken daily, for weeks or months at a time.
