''Clavariadelphus ligula'', commonly known as the strap coral, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the family ''

Gomphaceae The Gomphaceae are a diverse family of fungi belonging in what is classically known as the Phallales The Phallales are an order of fungi in the subclass Phallomycetidae. The order contains two families: the Claustulaceae, and the Phallaceae ...

''. It produces club-shaped

fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

with spongy flesh that grow in groups on the forest floor. It is found in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by the German naturalist

Jacob Christian Schaeffer Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...

in 1774 as ''Clavaria ligula''. It was first placed in '' Clavariadelphus'' by

Marinus Anton Donk Marinus Anton Donk (14 August 1908 – 2 September 1972) was a Dutch mycologist. He specialized in the taxonomy and nomenclature of mushrooms. Rolf Singer wrote in his obituary that he was "one of the most outstanding figures of contemporary myc ...

in 1933. ''Clavaria ophioglossoides'', described by

August Batsch August Johann Georg Karl Batsch (28 October 1761 – 29 September 1802) was a German naturalist. He was a recognised authority on mushrooms, and also described new species of ferns, bryophytes, and seed plants. Life and career Batsch was born ...

in 1783, is considered a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

. The fungus is commonly known as the "strap coral". The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''ligula'' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word for "shoestring".

Description

left, Typical growth habit The club portion of the fruit body is pale yellow, whitish sharp, straight, and stiff hairs at its base. The surface is dull, and does not have hairs. It is smooth at first then later becomes somewhat wrinkled. It is club-shaped to spoon-shaped, and up to tall by wide at the thickest part. The stipe is not distinct except for the hairs at the base. The

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as mu ...

is whitish, and does not change color with bruising. It is somewhat spongy in the upper part, but firm below. The flesh has no odor, and its taste is slightly bitter. The surface tissue turns green upon the application of a solution of ferric sulphate, and yellow with a dilute solution of

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

. The

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s are pale yellowish orange ("light buff") in print. Additional features may be discerned using

light microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...

: they are smooth, narrowly

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

, and measure 8–15 by 3–6 μm. The

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

e are monomitic, and

clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of Basidiomycetes fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rece ...

s are present.

Cystidia A cystidium (plural cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that ar ...

are absent. One field guide lists the species as edible, while another says it is inedible.

Similar species

''Clavariadelphus sachalinensis'' is macroscopically identical from ''C. ligula'', and can be distinguished only by its larger spores, measuring 16–24 by 4–6 μm, and longer basidia. However, intermediate forms are often found, and they may represent the same species. '' Clavaria flavipes'' is another similar species, but in addition to being smaller and more pale yellow than ''Clavariadelphus ligula'', it also has broader spores.

Habitat and distribution

The fruit bodies of ''Clavariadelphus ligula'' grow gregariously (closely scattered over small areas) on the ground, in forest duff. They are widespread and common in

coniferous forest Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

s, fruiting in the summer and fall. The species has been collected in the Czech Republic, in the

Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region. History Maga ...

region of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

as well as the arctic zone of the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...

. It has also been collected in the conifer-dominated forests in

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

in India. In North America, the distribution extends north to Canada.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2978650 Phallales Fungi described in 1774 Fungi of Asia Fungi of North America Taxa named by Jacob Christian Schäffer