Ramaria rubrievanescens

Description

Ramaria rubrievanescens is a coral mushroom in the family Gomphaceae. The coral is generally white with pinkish branch tips. The stem often bruises brown. It is found in North America.

Ramaria rubripermanens is quite similar, fruiting in spring and autumn, and retaining color in its tips for longer, while R. rubrievanescens fruits only in autumn, and the colour of the tips fades quickly. Both species have a similar spore size, which is smaller than in R. botrytis. These species are sometimes eaten, but for some people, they have a laxative effect.

The large size of all these species make them attractive as edibles but, as is common with ramarias, they have a laxative effect on some people, so proceed with caution and moderation if you choose to sample them.

However, spore size is useful in separating these two species from the very similar R. botrytis, which has larger spores (11-17 x 4-6 µm) and fruits in fall.

Common names: Pale Pinky, Fading Pink Coral.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Ron Pastorino (Ronpast) (CC BY-SA 3.0)