Ramariopsis kunzei (Fries) Donk
Rev. Nied. Homob. Aphyll. 2: 89. 1933.

Common Name: none

• Sporocarp

  Fruiting body, shrubby, up to 8.0 cm tall, 7.0 cm broad, consisting of multiple, often twisted branches, either separate or partially fused at the base; branches slightly flattened, forked dichotomously three to four times, the forks typically u-shaped, tips rounded to pointed; surface of branches glabrous above, pubescent below, whitish to cream-buff, sometimes tinged pinkish in age; context brittle, fragile, whitish, unchanging when cut; odor mild; taste mild.

• Spores

  Spores 3.5-5.0 x 3.0-4.0 µm, subglobose, to broadly obovate, warted, hilar appendage conspicuous, inamyloid; spore print white.

• Habitat

  Solitary to scattered in mixed hardwood-conifer woods; fruiting from after the fall rains to late winter.

• Edibility

  Edible, but of little value.

• Comments

  This small, whitish coral is characterized by a brittle texture and a dichotomous branch pattern, with u-shaped forks. Clavulina cristata is similar but has multi-toothed branch tips (unless parasitized), and is not nearly so fragile. Additionally these two species in the S.F. Bay Area tend to grow in different habitats, Clavulina cristata with pines, Ramariopsis kunzei in mixed woods. Microscopically the two species are also distinct. Clavulina cristata has two-spored basidia, the spores smooth, while Ramariopsis kunzei has four-spored basidia, the spores warted.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Michael Wood: Ramariopsis kunzei (CP)
  • Mushrooms & Toadstools of the Netherlands: Ramariopsis kunzei (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 642 (D & P)
  • Jordan: p. 90 (D & CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 410 (D), pl. 742 (CP)
  • Orr & Orr: p. 69 (D)
  • Phillips: p. 292 (D & CP)
  • Tylutki (1987): p. 75 (D)

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)