''Ramaria botrytis'', commonly known as the clustered coral, the pink-tipped coral mushroom, or the cauliflower coral, is an
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 ...
species of
coral fungus
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 ...
in the family
Gomphaceae
The Gomphaceae are a diverse family of fungi belonging in what is classically known as the Phallales or cladistically as the ''gomphoid-phalloid clade''. The family has 13 genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biologi ...
. Its robust
fruit body
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the Ovary (plants), ovary after flowering plant, flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their ...
can grow up to in diameter and tall, and resembles some
marine coral. Its dense branches, which originate from a stout, massive base, are swollen at the tips and divided into several small