''Clavulina cristata'', commonly known as the white coral

fungus 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 th ...

or the crested coral fungus, is a white- or light-colored

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

coral mushroom The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the ''Basidiomycota'' typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fun ...

present in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

areas of

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Clavulina ''Clavulina'' is a genus of fungus in the family Clavulinaceae, in the Cantharelloid clade (order Cantharellales). Species are characterized by having extensively branched fruit bodies, white spore prints, and bisterigmate basidia (often with se ...

''. The commonly used species name ''cristata'' was coined in 1790 by Danish mycologist Theodor Holmskjold (as ''Ramaria cristata''). However,

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

described apparently the same fungus as ''Clavaria coralloides'' in

Species plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

in 1753. Therefore, according to the ''

International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

'', the name ''Clavulina coralloides'' should be used in preference to ''Clavulina cristata'',See Kuo, M. (2007, April) the MushroomExpert.Com Web site entry

although the latter name is in more common use.

Description

Fruit bodies, which are generally white- to cream-colored, can be up to tall, and 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.Google Books
/ref> The fruit bodies have no distinctive odor, and a mild taste. The fruit bodies may have a darker color either due to natural variation (whereby the appearance of this species may approach and be confused with ''C. cinerea'') or because of infection by a microscopic fungus, ''Helminthosphaeria clavariarum''.

Microscopic features

The Basidiospore, spores are white, roughly spherical, thick-walled, non-

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a Fibril, fibrillar morphology of 7–13 Nanometer, nm in diameter, a beta sheet (β-sheet) Secondary structure of proteins, secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be Staining, ...

, smooth, and have dimensions of 7–11 by 6–10 µm.

Basidia A basidium () is a microscopic sporangium (a spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly-c ...

are club-shaped, 60–80 by 6–8 µm, and 2-spored.

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.

Sterigmata In biology, a sterigma (pl. sterigmata) is a small supporting structure. It commonly refers to an extension of the basidium (the spore-bearing cells) consisting of a basal filamentous part and a slender projection which carries a spore at the ti ...

, the slender projections of the basidium that bear the spores, may be straight or curved, and up to 7–8 µm long.Google Books
/ref> Microscopic and molecular analysis indicate that the species is related to chanterelles.

Habitat

''Clavulina cristata'' is found growing solitary or in clusters on the ground (sometimes on rotten wood) in both

coniferous 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 extant ...

and

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

forests. It is a common mushroom, and typically fruits from late summer to winter.

Edibility

This fungus is

,Google Books
/ref> but the tough flesh and insubstantial fruit bodies make it unappetizing to some individuals. It is considered excellent by some.

Lookalikes

Some other coral fungi have macroscopic and microscopic features similar to ''Clavulina cristata'', making identification confusing. '' Clavulina rugosa'' is unbranched or sparingly branched. '' Clavulina cinerea'' is usually darker in color. ''Ramaria stricta'' has parallel branches and grows on wood.

Chemistry

In addition to the major

fatty acid In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, fr ...

components,

palmitic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Li ...

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega ...

and

linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...

, ''C. cristata'' contains two unusual

fatty acids In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, f ...

, ''cis''-9, ''cis''-14-octadecadien-12-ynoic acid, and the conjugated ''cis''-9, ''trans''-11, ''trans''-13, ''cis''-15-octadecatetraenoic acid (commonly known as α- parinaric acid). ''C. cristata'' is the only fungi known to contain α-parinaric acid.Endo S. (1997). Vegetables are a treasurehouse of effective lipid sources. ''Nihon yukagaku kaishi'' 46(10): 1247–256
Abstract
/ref>

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q138027 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Edible fungi cristata