Oreja de Judas (Auricularia auricula-judae)

The fungus is associated with Judas Iscariot because of the belief that he hanged himself on an elder tree after his betrayal of Jesus Christ.[7] Folklore suggests that the ears are Judas's returned spirit,[11] and are all that are left to remind us of his suicide.[7] The common name of the fungus was originally "Judas's ear", but this was later shortened to "Judas ear" and then "Jew's ear".[7] Common names for the fungus which refer to Judas can be traced back to at least the end of the 16th century;[12] for instance, in the 17th century, Thomas Browne wrote of the species: