Thelephora anthocephala

What You Should Know

Thelephora anthocephala is a species of coral fungus in the family Thelephoraceae. It is a coral-like mushroom with tough-fleshed branches that arise from a thickened, stem-like base. T. anthocephala features gray branches that begin to flatten at their tips. It is associated with hardwoods, turns black with KOH, has no distinctive odor, and has funky, spiny spores.

It was originally described as new to science in 1786 by French botanist Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard, who placed it in the genus Clavaria. Elias Fries transferred it to Thelephora in his 1838 work Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici.

Thelephora anthocephala Mushroom Identification

1. Ecology

   Mycorrhizal with oaks and other hardwoods; growing alone, gregariously, or in small clusters on the ground; summer; widespread in North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and occasionally reported in the Pacific Northwest.

2. Fruiting Body

   A branching structure 3-4 cm high, with a short stem, or several main stems.

3. Branches

   Numerous; arising from shared basal branches or the stem; individually subcylindric at first, becoming somewhat flattened; surface becoming slightly wrinkled; brownish-gray with pale gray to whitish apices; apices rounded or subacute.

4. Stems

   0.5-1 cm high; 0.5-1 cm thick; tough; dark gray to black; united basally.

5. Flesh

   Stringy; fairly tough; dull tan; unchanging when sliced.

6. Chemical Reactions

   KOH is instantly black on all surfaces and flesh.

7. Spore Print

   I have not documented the spore print; probably brown.

8. Microscopic Features

   Spores 8-10 x 5-6 µ (excluding ornamentation); angular and lobed; covered with spines that extend 1-2 µ; ochraceous to brownish in KOH. Basidia 4-sterigmate; 40-50 µ long; clavate to widely clavate; basally clamped. Subhymenium not bluing in KOH. Tramal hyphae cylindric; 3-4 µ wide; walls smooth and hyaline to brownish in KOH; often clamped at septa.

Thelephora anthocephala Synonyms

1. Clavaria anthocephala Bull. 1786

2. Merisma anthocephalum (Bull.) Sw. 1811

3. Merisma clavulare Fr. 1815

4. Phylacteria clavularis (Fr.) Bigeard & H. Guill. 1913

5. Thelephora americana (Peck) Sacc. & P. Syd. 1902

6. Thelephora clavularis (Fr.) Fr. 1838

7. Thelephora palmata Pers. 1822

Sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Wilhelm Zimmerling PAR (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)

Photo 2 - Author: Wilhelm Zimmerling PAR (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)

Photo 3 - Author: Wilhelm Zimmerling PAR (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)