Basidiocarps (fruitbodies} are gelatinous, ear-like, and grow on dead wood of broadleaf trees.

The species was first described in 1788 as Peziza nigrescens by the Swedish botanist Olof Swartz, based on a collection he made from Jamaica.

In a later publication he changed the name to Peziza nigricans, which was accepted by the Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries.

[1] Molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has shown that Auricularia nigricans is distinct.

[1][3] Auricularia nigricans is a wood-rotting species, typically found on dead attached or fallen wood of broadleaf trees.