Clavulina cinerea

Description

Clavulina cinerea is a type of coral fungus that belongs to the Clavulinaceae family. It's not very common and can be easily missed because it looks quite plain. When it's fresh, it might have a nice lilac color, but as it gets older, it usually turns gray or brown.

These mushrooms are found in woodlands in Europe, North America, and other temperate regions. There's also a version with a purple tinge caused by a different fungus. This color change is due to an ascomycete fungus called Helminthosphaeria clavariorum, which can dominate in some areas, making the grey form rare.

While Clavulina cinerea is technically edible, it's not commonly used in cooking because it's small and doesn't have much culinary value.

Common names: Gray Coral, Ashy Coral Mushroom, France (Clavaire cendrée), German (Grauer Korallenpilz, Grauer Keulenpilz, Graue Blasskoralle).

Mushroom Identification

1. Fruiting Body

   This mushroom is small, about 1.18 to 3.94 inches (3 to 10 cm) tall and slightly smaller in width. It has branches that are often wavy and can resemble a coral shape. The surface starts as lilac-gray, becoming grayish-brown as it ages. It doesn't have a long stem and has a mild odor and taste.

2. Spores

   The spores are round to oval, smooth, and quite small, measuring 7-10.5 x 5.5-9 µm. The basidia have 2 spores.

3. Spore Print

   The spore print is creamy white.

4. Habitat

   You can find this mushroom scattered or in small groups on the ground in hardwood and conifer forests. It typically appears from mid to late winter.

Look-Alikes

1. Clavulina coralloides

   It is white and often found near pine trees.

2. Clavulina rugosa

   This mushroom exhibits a diminutive stature, typically characterized by a single or a limited number of club-shaped branches, consistently possessing rounded terminations.

History

Gray Coral was originally documented in 1788 by the French mycologist Jean Baptiste Francois (Pierre) Bulliard, who bestowed upon it the name Clavaria cinerea.

In the year 1888, the German mycologist Joseph Schrötter (1837 - 1894) relocated this species to the genus Clavulina, thus cementing its presently recognized scientific appellation, Clavulina cinerea.

The specific epithet "cinerea" conveys the meaning of smoky or ashen, denoting its grayish coloration, akin to cinders.

Synonyms and Varieties

• Clavaria cinerea Bulliard (1787), Herbier de la France, 8, tab. 354 (Basionyme) Sanctionnement : Fries (1821)

• Clavaria grisea Persoon (1797), Commentatio de fungis clavaeformibus, p. 44

• Ramaria cinerea (Bulliard) Gray (1821), A natural arrangement of British plants, 1, p. 656

• Clavaria fuliginea Persoon (1822), Mycologia europaea, seu complet omnium fungorum in variis europaeae regionibus detectorum enumeratio, 1, p. 166

• Merisma cinereum (Bulliard) Sprengel (1827), Systema vegetabilium, Edn 16, 4(1), p. 497 (nom. illegit.)

• Clavaria coralloides cinerea Secretan (1833), Mycographie Suisse, 3, p. 246 (nom. inval.)

• Clavariella grisea (Persoon) P. Karsten (1882), Bidrag till kännedom af Finlands natur och folk, 37, p. 186

• Corallium cinereum (Bulliard) G. Hahn (1883), Der pilzsammler; oder, Anleitung zur kenntniss der wichtigsten pilze Deutschlands und der angrenzenden länder, Edn 1, p. 73

• Clavaria sphaerospora Ellis & Everhart (1888), The journal of mycology, 4(8), p. 74

• Ramaria grisea (Persoon) Quélet (1888), Flore mycologique de la France et des pays limitrophes, p. 465

• Clavaria nigricans Velenovský (1922), Ceské houby, 4-5, p. 783 (nom. illegit.)

• Clavaria grisea f. petricolaBourdot & Galzin (1928) [1927], Hyménomycètes de France. Hétérobasidiés- Homobasidiés Gymnocarpes, p. 108

Video

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