Fairy Fingers (Clavaria fragilis)

Description
Mushroom Identification
Look-Alikes
Video
Synonyms and Varietes

Description

🤍 Meet Clavaria fragilis, commonly known as Fairy Fingers, White Spindles, or White Worm Coral. This fragile, unbranched fungus looks like little white clubs rising from woodland floors or grasslands, often found in clusters. 🌱 The fruit bodies can grow up to 15 cm tall and only 0.5 cm thick, resembling slender, ghostly spindles swaying in the breeze.

🌄 Native to the Europe, but also spotted in Australia, South Africa, and even the Arctic Ural Mountains, these fungi thrive in moist, nutrient-rich soils, feeding on leaf litter and dead grass. 🗺️

🍽️ Though edible, Clavaria fragilis isn’t a prized find for mushroom foragers—the delicate flesh is nearly tasteless and dissolves in your mouth. 🧂 Some say it even has a faint iodine-like scent. Despite this, its whimsical appearance has earned it a spot in the hearts of many mycologists and nature enthusiasts.

📜 Clavaria fragilis was first described in 1790 by Danish naturalist Theodor Holmskjold and later recognized by Elias Magnus Fries in 1821. Its name "fragilis" refers to the fragile nature of its fruit bodies. In 1811, Swedish mycologist Olof Swartz renamed it Clavaria vermicularis ("wormlike"), but this name is now outdated, though still sometimes used. Several other names for this species are listed in the MycoBank database.

Mushroom Identification

🍄 Fruit Body: The fruit bodies of Clavaria fragilis are simple and unbranched, growing 3-15 cm tall and 2-5 mm thick. They are smooth and white but may yellow slightly as they age, especially at the tips. These club-like structures often curve, tapering to a pointed or blunt end, and their flesh is extremely fragile—almost dissolving in your mouth! 🍂

🦠 Spores & Spore Print: The spores are elliptical and smooth, measuring 4.5-7 x 2.5-4.0 µm. When deposited, the spore print is white, blending in with the pale, ghostly appearance of the fungus itself. 🌀

🌿 Habitat & Distribution: You can find these mushrooms growing solitary, clustered, or in groups on soil or duff in mixed hardwood-conifer woods, from late fall to mid-winter. They prefer moist, rich environments where they feed on decomposing leaves and grass stems, making them saprobic. Though common throughout the Europe, North America, and Asia, they’ve also been spotted in places like Australia, South Africa, and even the Arctic Ural Mountains in Russia. 🌍

Look-Alikes

Clavaria fumosa

Grey in color, and like C. fragilis, may fruit in clusters
Clavaria purpurea

Purplish to lilac-brown, clustered species.
Clavulinopsis laeticolor

Yellowish-orange, has a mild taste and is one of our most commonly encountered fairy-clubs.
Clavulinopsis fusiformis

Usually is yellower, has a bitter taste, and clustered fruitings are typically fused at the base.
Clavaria acuta

An equally widespread species that typically grows singly or in small groups rather than in dense clusters and can be distinguished microscopically by its clamped basidia and larger spores.
Clavaria atkinsoniana

Found in the southwestern and central United States, which cannot be distinguished from C. fragilis by field characteristics alone but has larger spores—8.5–10 by 4.5–5 µm.
Clavaria rubicundula

Another North American species, which is similar in stature but has a reddish tint.
Multiclavula mucida

A widespread lichenized species with smaller fruit bodies occurs with its associated algae on moist wood.