Cristata – isn’t that a great word!

Walking along, the dogs racing through the forest having a blast and Balfour says what’s that? We bend down and flatten the moss a bit to see this coral closer. Neither of us have seen it before and McDowell takes some snaps before the dogs show up to bound around. (That’s why only two.)

About Clavulina cristata

Clavulina cristata, commonly known as the white coral fungus or the crested coral fungus, is a white- or light-colored edible coral mushroom present in temperate areas of the Americas and Europe. It is the type species of the genus Clavulina.

The commonly used species name cristata was coined in 1790 by Danish mycologist Theodor Holmskjold (as Ramaria cristata). However, Linnaeus described apparently the same fungus as Clavaria coralloides in Species plantarum in 1753. Therefore, according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, the name Clavulina coralloides should be used in preference to Clavulina cristata, although the latter name is in more common use.

More information: Clavulina cristata: wikipedia

And I don’t usually link to anything other than open-source wikipedia but this has more info and where I was able to ID our find:

Clavulina cristata: MushroomExpert.com

It’s the year of sorting corals – they look so much alike — or do they??

This baby has crown tips and once you see them it’s like okay I got this. It’s so obvious now. ha!

Now if only I could pronounce the name: Artomyces pyxidatus

This beauty was just sitting around in Sprockids. Easier to see the 3D crown structure in the top photo.

Tell ya, once you start looking at corals, you really get up close and personal and l-o-o-k at them.

And I’m smiling thinking of how wonderfully weird mushroom foragers are!

About Artomyces pyxidatus

Artomyces pyxidatus is a coral fungus that is commonly called crown coral or crown-tipped coral fungus. Its most characteristic feature is the crown-like shape of the tips of its branches. The epithet pyxidatus means “box-like”—a reference to this shape.

Artomyces pyxidatus can be observed throughout Northern Canada during the growing season. In Britain, it was recorded in 2011, almost 116 years after its previous reliable report, a collection made by mycologist Carleton Reale on 20 October 1886. It is widespread but uncommon in Western Europe. The fungus produces its hard, coral-like fruiting bodies on growing wood. Basidia and basidiospores are produced on the surfaces of the branches. These fungi are considered edible when raw, although some people may experience gastrointestinal upset, especially after eating a large quantity. The raw fruiting bodies have a peppery taste that usually disappears when cooked.

More information: Artomyces pyxidatus: wikipedia

Ramaria stricta.

The coral that kicked it off for Balfour and McDowell in their quest to really look at corals.

Funny in the photos the branches look so sturdy. When I got home from our hike I remembered them as hair-like, very thin. The mind, what tricks she plays – or is it just me? So now I always look at my photos first before trying to ID a mushroom. I mean hair-like branched coral mushroom came up with nothing like this in duck duck go.

But back to the story. We found many clusters of these just off B&K on Black Tower.

Corals are all about the tips. These are thorn-like. No crowns here. Who needs a crown anyway? Heavy is the head…

Don’t be afraid to pick and turn over a mushroom fruiting body. Remember that what you see is just the fruiting body and it’s job is to disperse spores. So picking the fruiting body of a mushroom that is ready to disperse spores is helping it. The main part of the mushroom is the mycelia that is usually hidden from view and continues to grow to put forth new fruiting bodies the next season and keep the life cycle spinning.

 

About Ramaria stricta

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 (3.9 in) 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.

The fungus is lignicolous, common in late summer and fall inconiferous forests of the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountains. The fungus grows on dead wood, stumps, trunks, and branches of both leafy and coniferous trees. The form that grows on deciduous wood tends to be more orange and less bushy than those which grow on coniferous wood. Fruit bodies can form in “log lines” where decaying wood is buried underground near the surface, or is in an advanced state of decomposition.

More information: Ramaria stricta: wikipedia