Calocera pallidospathulata

Description

Calocera pallidospathulata is a yellow fungus with gelatinous fruit bodies typically 3 to 10 mm, which wrinkle lengthways and narrow downwards to a stem, termed spatulate. As they develop they change from yellow to white.

Common names: Pale Stagshorn.

Mushroom Identification

1. Fruitbody

   Initially pale translucent yellow (occasionally orange), becoming more palid; irregularly shaped but with rounded rather than sharp tips; greasy and viscid; occasionally forked; clustered in non-merging groups; 2 to 10mm tall and typically 1-2mm across. Rubbery and gelatinous in texture.

2. Spores

   Sausage-shaped, smooth,10-15 x 3.5-5µm; inamyloid; with large oil drops; becoming septate at maturity with 1 to 3 septae (dividing walls).

3. Spore Print

   White.

4. Odor and Taste

   Not distinctive.

5. Habitat & Ecological Role

   Saprobic, on well-rotted trunks, stumps and fallen branches of dead conifers and broadleaf trees.

Look-Alikes

1. Calocera cornea

   Similar but a brighter yellow, not whitish.

2. Calocera viscosa

   Yellow and much larger; it has branches emanating from a short trunk.

History

In 1974 the British mycologist Derek Agutter Reid (1926 - 2006) described this species.

Calo- means beautiful, while the extension -cera comes from ancient Greek and means 'like wax', so that the genus name Calocera translates to 'beautiful and waxy' - and that accurately describes the form of Calocera pallidospathulata.

Just as it sounds, the specific epithet pallidospathulata means pale (pallid-) and spathulate (= spatulate) meaning shaped like a spatula - a broad, flat flexible blade used to mix food and other substances.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Stu's Images (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Stu's Images (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Stu's Images (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Stu's Images (CC BY-SA 3.0)