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 ...
''Ramaria'' comprises approximately 200
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 ...
of
coral fungi
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 fu ...
. 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, vomiting and diarrhea; these include ''
R. formosa'' and ''
R. pallida''. Three ''Ramaria'' species have been demonstrated to contain a very unusual organoarsenic compound homoarsenocholine.
Etymology
The genus name is derived from
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 ...
''rāmus'' meaning ''branch''.
Description
Basidiocarp
In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not ...
s may range in color from bright yellow, red, or orange, to purple, white, and shades of tan. Color changes after bruising occur in some species.
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 of ''Ramaria'' species are yellow-brown to rusty-brown in mass deposit and range from smooth to warted to
echinulate
The following is a glossary of scientific terminology, terms used in the description of lichens, composite organisms that arise from algae or cyanobacteria living among Hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species in a Mutualism (biology), mutuali ...
or
striate
In geology, a striation is a groove, created by a geological process, on the surface of a rock or a mineral.
In structural geology, striations are linear furrows, or linear marks, generated from fault movement. The striation's direction revea ...
; spore size may range considerably, and ornamentation, when present, is