''Ramaria rubripermanens'' is a species of coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae. Described as new to science in 1973, it is found in the western United States and Mexico. Its

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 c ...

, which resemble sea coral, grow up to tall and feature whitish to light yellow branches with pinkish to reddish tips. It is edible.

Taxonomy

The fungus was described as new to science in 1973 by Currie Marr and

Daniel Stuntz Daniel Elliot Stuntz (March 15, 1909 - March 5, 1983) was often called "Bud" by his family and colleagues. When Stuntz was young, his immediate and extended family moved from Ohio to Seattle. He had a sister named Alice Stuntz Marionneaux, whom ...

in their

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

on the ''

Ramaria The genus ''Ramaria'' comprises approximately 200 species of coral fungi. Several, such as '' Ramaria flava'', are edible and picked in Europe, though they are easily confused with several mildly poisonous species capable of causing nausea, vomi ...

'' of western Washington. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

collection was made in Washington in 1967.

Description

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 c ...

grow on the ground, and measure wide by tall. Young fruit bodies have whitish to light yellow branches (which dry to fawn-brown with a reddish tint) with pinkish to reddish tips. The flesh has a sweet odor and an indistinct taste. Its spores are somewhat

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 ...

, have longitudinal striations (grooves), and measure 8–13 by 3.5–4.5

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

(averaging 10.3 by 3.8 μm). It is an

edible mushroom Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi (fungi which bear fruiting structures that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye). They can appear either below ground (hypogeous) or above ground ...

Similar species

''Ramaria rubripermanens'' is somewhat similar in appearance to '' Ramaria botrytis'', but can be distinguished from that species by the persisting pink to red coloration of the branch tips, and the lack of a staining reaction in the branches. It can be reliably distinguished from ''R. botrytis'' by its smaller

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, which measure 8–13 by 3.5–4.5 μm. The basidia, which feature a clamp at their bases, are club-shaped, usually four-spored, and measure 31–62 by 7–11 μm.

Habitat and distribution

''Ramaria rubripermanens'' is known from the western United States, including Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. It has also been recorded in Mexico.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7289060 Gomphaceae Edible fungi Fungi described in 1973 Fungi of North America Fungus species