Ramaria formosa, commonly known as the salmon coral, beautiful clavaria, handsome clavaria, yellow-tipped- or pink coral fungus, is a coral fungus found in Europe. It is widely held to be mildly poisonous if consumed, giving rise to acute gastrointestinal symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and colicky pain. It is a pinkish, much-branched coral-shape reaching some 20 cm (8 in) high. Similar forms collected in North America are now considered to represent a different species than the European Ramaria formosa.
The genus Ramaria comprises approximately 200 species of coral fungi. Several, such as Ramaria flava, are edible and picked in Europe, though they are easily confused with several mildly poisonous species capable of causing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; these include R. formosa and R. pallida. Three Ramaria species have been demonstrated to contain a very unusual organoarsenic compound homoarsenocholine.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ramaria fennica, commonly known as the bitter coral, is a coral mushroom in the family Gomphaceae. It is found in Australia, Europe and North America.
Phaeoclavulina abietina, commonly known as the green-staining coral, is a coral mushroom in the family Gomphaceae. It is characterized by the green staining reaction it develops in response to bruising or injury.
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.
Ramaria rasilispora, commonly known as the yellow coral, is a coral mushroom in the family Gomphaceae. Described as new to science in 1974, it is found in western North America south to Mexico, and in the eastern Himalaya.
Ramaria rubripermanens is a species of coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae. Described as new to science in 1973, it is found in the western United States and Mexico. Its fruit bodies, which resemble sea coral, grow up to 16 cm (6.3 in) tall and feature whitish to light yellow branches with pinkish to reddish tips. It is edible.
Ramaria botrytoides is a species of coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae. First described by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck in 1905 as Clavaria botryoides, it was transferred to the genus Ramaria in 1950 by E.J.H. Corner. Found in the eastern United States, it resembles Ramaria botrytis, but can be most reliably distinguished from that species by the lack of longitudinal striations in its spores.
Ramaria gracilis is a species of coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae.
Ramaria myceliosa is a species of coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae. Found in North America, it was originally described by Charles Horton Peck in 1904 with the name Clavaria myceliosa. The type was collected by botanist Edwin Bingham Copeland in the mountains near Stanford University in California. E.J.H. Corner transferred it to the genus Ramaria in 1950. Giachini and colleagues proposed that Ramaria myceliosa is the same species as the European Phaeoclavulina curta, but did not provide molecular evidence to support their suggested synonymy. In a recent (2014) publication on California fungi, the authors propose the transfer of Ramaria myceliosa to the genus Phaeoclavulina, but as of January 2016, this transfer has not been accepted by either MycoBank or Index Fungorum.
Ramaria flavosaponaria is a species of coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae. It is found in the mountains of eastern North America from Georgia and Tennessee to Nova Scotia.
Phaeoclavulina murrillii is a coral fungus that is widely distributed in the southeastern United States. It has also been found as far North in the United States as Michigan, and in Spain.
