| Clavariadelphus ligula | |
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| Species: | C. ligula |
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| Clavariadelphus ligula | |
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Clavariadelphus ligula, commonly known as the strap coral, is a species of fungus in the family Gomphaceae . It produces club-shaped fruit bodies with spongy flesh that grow in groups on the forest floor. It is found in Asia, Europe, and North America.
The species was first described by the German naturalist Jacob Christian Schaeffer in 1774 as Clavaria ligula. [2] It was first placed in Clavariadelphus by Marinus Anton Donk in 1933. [3] Clavaria ophioglossoides, described by August Batsch in 1783, [4] is considered a synonym. [5]
The fungus is commonly known as the "strap coral". [6] The specific epithet ligula is derived from the Latin word for "shoestring". [7]
The club portion of the fruit body is pale yellow, whitish sharp, straight, and stiff hairs at its base. The surface is dull, and does not have hairs. It is smooth at first then later becomes somewhat wrinkled. It is club-shaped to spoon-shaped, and up to 12 cm (4.7 in) tall by 2 cm (0.8 in) wide at the thickest part. The stipe is not distinct except for the hairs at the base. The flesh is whitish, and does not change color with bruising. It is somewhat spongy in the upper part, but firm below. The flesh has no odor, and its taste is slightly bitter. The surface tissue turns green upon the application of a solution of ferric sulphate, and yellow with a dilute solution of potassium hydroxide. [8]
The spores are pale yellowish orange ("light buff") in print. Additional features may be discerned using light microscopy: they are smooth, narrowly ellipsoid, and measure 8–15 by 3–6 μm. The hyphae are monomitic, and clamp connections are present. Cystidia are absent. [8]
One field guide lists the species as edible, [9] while another says it is inedible. [10]
Clavariadelphus sachalinensis is macroscopically identical from C. ligula, and can be distinguished only by its larger spores, measuring 16–24 by 4–6 μm, and longer basidia. [8] However, intermediate forms are often found, and they may represent the same species. [11] Clavaria flavipes is another similar species, but in addition to being smaller and more pale yellow than Clavariadelphus ligula, it also has broader spores. [12]
The fruit bodies of Clavariadelphus ligula grow gregariously (closely scattered over small areas) on the ground, in forest duff. They are widespread and common in coniferous forests, fruiting in the summer and fall. [8]
The species has been collected in the Czech Republic, [13] in Austria (data in), the Magadan region of the Russian Far East [14] as well as the arctic zone of the Urals. [15] It has also been collected in the conifer-dominated forests in Kashmir Valley in India. [16] In North America, the distribution extends north to Canada.
Tapinella atrotomentosa, commonly known as the velvet roll-rim or velvet-footed pax, is a species of fungus in the family Tapinellaceae. Although it has gills, it is a member of the pored mushroom order Boletales. August Batsch described the species in 1783. It has been recorded from Asia, Central America, Europe and North America. Tough and inedible, it grows on tree stumps of conifers. The mushroom contains several compounds that act as deterrents of feeding by insects.
Spathularia flavida, commonly known as the yellow earth tongue, the yellow fan, or the fairy fan, is an ascomycete fungus found in coniferous forests of Asia, Europe and North America. It produces a small, fan- or spoon-shaped fruit body with a flat, wavy or lobed cream to yellow colored "head" raised on a white to cream stalk. The height is usually approximately 2–5 cm, and up to 8 cm. The fungus fruits on the ground in mosses, forest duff or humus, and fruit bodies may occur singly, in large groups, or in fairy rings. The spores produced by the fungus are needle-like, and up to 95 micrometres long. Several varieties have been described that differ largely in their microscopic characteristics. S. flavida has been described by authorities variously as inedible, of unknown edibility, or edible but tough.
Hydnellum aurantiacum is an inedible fungus, commonly known as the orange spine or orange Hydnellum for its reddish orange or rusty red colored fruit bodies. Like other tooth fungi, it bears a layer of spines rather than gills on the underside of the cap. Due to substantial declines in sightings, this species is listed as critically endangered in the United Kingdom.
Ramariopsis is a genus of coral fungi in the family Clavariaceae. The genus has a collectively widespread distribution and contains about 40 species. The name means 'having the appearance of Ramaria'.
Ramariopsis kunzei is an edible species of coral fungi in the family Clavariaceae, and the type species of the genus Ramariopsis. It is commonly known as white coral because of the branched structure of the fruit bodies that resemble marine coral. The fruit bodies are up to 5 cm (2.0 in) tall by 4 cm (1.6 in) wide, with numerous branches originating from a short rudimentary stem. The branches are one to two millimeters thick, smooth, and white, sometimes with yellowish tips in age. Ramariopsis kunzei has a widespread distribution, and is found in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Mycena acicula, commonly known as the orange bonnet, or the coral spring Mycena, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae. It is found in Asia, the Caribbean, North America and Europe. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, of the fungus grow on dead twigs and other woody debris of forest floors, especially along streams and other wet places. They have small orange-red caps, up to 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter, held by slender yellowish stems up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long. The gills are pale yellow with a whitish edge. Several other Mycena species look similar, but may be distinguished by differences in size and/or microscopic characteristics. M. acicula is considered inedible because of its small size.
Ramaria botrytis, commonly known as the clustered coral, the pink-tipped coral mushroom, or the cauliflower coral, is an edible species of coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae. Its robust fruit body can grow up to 15 cm (6 in) in diameter and 20 cm (8 in) tall, and resembles some marine coral. Its dense branches, which originate from a stout, massive base, are swollen at the tips and divided into several small branchlets. The branches are initially whitish but age to buff or tan, with tips that are pink to reddish. The flesh is thick and white. The spores, yellowish in deposit, are ellipsoid, feature longitudinal striations, and measure about 13.8 by 4.7 micrometers.
Clavaria is a genus of fungi in the family Clavariaceae. Species of Clavaria produce basidiocarps that are either cylindrical to club-shaped or branched and coral-like. They are often grouped with similar-looking species from other genera, when they are collectively known as the clavarioid fungi. All Clavaria species are terrestrial and most are believed to be saprotrophic. In Europe, they are typical of old, mossy, unimproved grassland. In North America and elsewhere, they are more commonly found in woodlands.
Pholiota flammans, commonly known as the yellow pholiota, the flaming Pholiota, or the flame scalecap, is a basidiomycete agaric mushroom of the genus Pholiota. Its fruit body is golden-yellow in color throughout, while its cap and stem are covered in sharp scales. As it is a saprobic fungus, the fruit bodies typically appear in clusters on the stumps of dead coniferous trees. P. flammans is distributed throughout Europe, North America, and Asia in boreal and temperate regions. Its edibility has not been clarified.
Clavariadelphus truncatus is a species of mushroom. The common name of the species is truncated club or club coral. It is a member of the basidiomycete fungi family Gomphaceae.
The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fungi and coral fungi.
Clavaria fragilis, commonly known as fairy fingers, white worm coral, or white spindles, is a species of fungus in the family Clavariaceae. It is synonymous with Clavaria vermicularis. The fungus is the type species of the genus Clavaria and is a typical member of the clavarioid or club fungi. It produces tubular, unbranched, white basidiocarps that typically grow in clusters. The fruit bodies can reach dimensions of 15 cm (5.9 in) tall by 0.5 cm (0.2 in) thick. Clavaria fragilis is a saprobic species, growing in woodland litter or in old, unimproved grassland. It is widespread throughout temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere, but has also been reported from Australia and South Africa. The fungus is edible, but insubstantial and flavorless. There are several other small white coral-like fungi with which C. fragilis may be confused.
Clavaria zollingeri, commonly known as the violet coral or the magenta coral, is a widely distributed species of fungus. It produces striking tubular, purple to pinkish-violet fruit bodies that grow up to 10 cm (3.9 in) tall and 7 cm (2.8 in) wide. The extreme tips of the fragile, slender branches are usually rounded and brownish. A typical member of the clavarioid or club fungi, Clavaria zollingeri is saprobic, and so derives nutrients by breaking down organic matter. The fruit bodies are typically found growing on the ground in woodland litter, or in grasslands. Variations in branching and color can often be used to distinguish C. zollingeri from similarly colored coral fungi such as Alloclavaria purpurea and Clavulina amethystina, although microscopy is required to reliably identify the latter species.
Cortinarius varius, also known as the contrary webcap, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Cortinarius. The mushroom has orangish-yellow caps that reach up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter, and thick club-shaped stems up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long.
Resupinatus applicatus, commonly known as the smoked oysterling or the black jelly oyster, is a species of fungus in the family Tricholomataceae, and the type species of the genus Resupinatus. First described in 1786 as Agaricus applicatus by August Johann Georg Karl Batsch, it was transferred to Resupinatus by Samuel Frederick Gray in 1821.
Thelephora palmata is a species of clavarioid fungus in the family Thelephoraceae. The fruit bodies are leathery and coral-like, with branches that are narrow at the base before widening out like a fan and splitting into numerous flattened prongs. The wedge-like tips are whitish when young, but darken as the fungus matures. The common names of the fungus refers to its pungent odor, likened to fetid garlic. A widely distributed but uncommon species, it is found in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America, where it fruits on the ground in both coniferous and mixed forest.
Clavaria fumosa, commonly known as the smoky clavaria or smoky spindles, is a species of coral fungus in the family Clavariaceae. It was originally described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1795.
Protostropharia semiglobata, commonly known as the dung roundhead, the halfglobe mushroom, or the hemispherical stropharia, is an agaric fungus of the family Strophariaceae. A common and widespread species with a cosmopolitan distribution, the fungus produces mushrooms on the dung of various wild and domesticated herbivores. The mushrooms have hemispherical straw yellow to buff-tan caps measuring 1–4 cm (0.4–1.6 in), greyish gills that become dark brown in age, and a slender, smooth stem 3–12 cm (1.2–4.7 in) long with a fragile ring.
Ramaria stricta, commonly known as the strict-branch coral is a coral fungus of the genus Ramaria. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, and grows on dead wood, stumps, trunks, and branches of both deciduous and coniferous trees. Its fruit body is up to 10 cm tall, made of multiple slender, compact, and vertical parallel branches. Its color is typically light tan to vinaceous-brown. All parts of the mushroom will bruise when handled. There are several lookalike corals that can usually be distinguished from R. stricta by differences in coloration, bruising reaction, or microscopic features. The fungus is inedible due to its unpleasant odor and bitter taste.
Clavulinopsis umbrinella, commonly known as the beige coral, is a coral mushroom in the family Clavariaceae. Fruit bodies are initially white before turning pale brown with darker brown tips. Originally described in 1860, it is known to occur in Europe and North America where it grows in grass. It is not a common species.
