Ramaria fennica
species of fungus
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.
Taxonomy
Petter Karsten first described the species in 1868 under the name Clavaria fennica, based on collections made in Finnish fir woods. Adalbert Ricken transferred it to the genus Ramaria in 1920.
The specific epithet fennica refers to Finland, where the original collections were made. It is commonly known as the "bitter coral".
Description
The fruit body consist of numerous branches that arise from usually two to four large primary upright branches, which themselves originate from a single thick, fleshy base. The overall dimensions of the fruit body are 6–18 cm (2+1⁄4–7 in) tall by 5–12 cm (2–4+3⁄4 in) wide. Unlike many larger species of Ramaria, the fruit bodies are usually taller than they are wide.
The surface of the branches is smooth and they can range in color from olive-grey to olive-umber to smokey-yellow, grayish-tan, or yellow brown.
“Ramaria fennica” enters the record as species of fungus. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ramaria, fennica and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Ramaria fennica” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Ramaria, fennica and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 21, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q10561627. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1868 and 1920.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ramaria fennica” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.