Clavulinopsis luteoalba

What You Should Know

Clavulinopsis luteoalba is a finger-like mushroom with apricot yellow color and usually pale tips. They have neither gills nor pores but develop spores on the outside of the fruiting body where they are dispersed by wind and rain.

A common species of acidic unimproved grassland is usually found singly or in small groups. Very similar to Clavulinopsis helvola and needs microscopy to be sure.

Other names: Apricot Club.

Clavulinopsis luteoalba Mushroom Identification

1. Fruitbody

   The pale-tipped, slender fingers are yellow, often with an orange tinge and of more or less constant diameter, sometimes tapering inwards at the base.

   The individual clubs are typically 1 to 4mm in diameter and 3 to 6 cm tall.

2. Spores

   Ellipsoidal, smooth, 4.5-8 x 2.5-4.5μm; with a prominent apical pore.

3. Spore Print

   White.

4. Odor and Taste

   Odor slightly musty; taste not distinctive.

5. Habitat & Ecological Role

   Saprobic and grows from the soil in short grassland.

6. Similar Species

   Clavulinopsis fusiformis is similar in size and color but does not have pale club tips and usually forms much more dense tufts; its clubs are compressed and sometimes forked, and they are fused at the base.

Clavulinopsis luteoalba Taxonomy and Etymology

In 1903 British mycologist, Carlton Rea (1861 - 1946) gave this grassland mushroom the binomial scientific name Clavaria luteoalba.

In 1950 another British mycologist, Edred John Henry Corner (1906 - 1996) transferred this species to the genus Clavulinopsis, establishing its currently accepted scientific name as Clavulinopsis luteoalba.

Synonyms of Clavulinopsis luteoalba include Clavaria luteoalba Rea, and Clavulinopsis luteoalba var. latispora Corner.

The origin of the generic name is the Latin noun clava meaning a club, with the suffix implying that it looks quite similar to species in the genus Clavulina.

The Clavulinopsis genus is closely related to Clavulina and Clavaria, but fungi in the Clavulinopsis group have tougher, less brittle fruitbodies that are solid rather than hollow in structure.

The most obvious microscopic difference is that Clavulinopsis species have clamp connections in the tramal tissues.

The specific epithet luteoalba also comes from Latin and means yellow and white, a reference to the white tips of these yellow clubs.

Sources:

Photo 1 - Author: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Photo 2 - Author: Leoboudv (Public Domain)