Clavulina cristata
species of fungus
Clavulina cristata, commonly known as the wrinkled coral fungus, 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.
Taxonomy
The commonly used species name cristata was coined in 1790 by Danish mycologist Theodor Holmskjold (as Ramaria cristata). However, Carl Linnaeus described apparently the same fungus as Clavaria coralloides in his 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.
Description
The fruit bodies, which are generally white- to cream-colored, can be up to 8 centimetres (3+1⁄8 in) tall, and 2.5–4 cm (1–1+5⁄8 in) broad. The coral "arms" are sparingly branched (3–4 times), 2–4 mm wide, smooth, and sometimes wrinkled longitudinally. The tips are cristate, having small pointed projections, and will often darken with age or in dry weather. The stems vary in form and can be 5–40 mm (1⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) long and 5–20 mm wide. The fruit bodies have no distinctive odor, and a mild taste.
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This entry incorporates text from “Clavulina cristata” 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.