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Clavariadelphus americanus

[ Basidiomycetes > Phallales > Gomphaceae > Clavariadelphus . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Clavariadelphus americanus is nearly identical to the better known Clavariadelphus pistillaris; both species have rounded rather than top-shaped tips, both are orangish brown to cinnamon brown at maturity, and both are found in eastern North America. However, if you have paid attention to the woods you were collecting in, separating the two can usually be accomplished without measuring spores, since Clavariadelphus pistillaris is mycorrhizal with beech, while Clavariadelphus americanus associates with oaks and pines.

The western species in the "pistillaris group" is the pinkish Clavariadelphus occidentalis

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with oaks and pines; growing scattered or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in eastern North America.

Fruiting Body: 3-15 cm high; up to about 3 cm wide at the apex; cylindric or narrowly club-shaped at first, becoming more broadly club-shaped with age; dry; initially smooth, becoming shallowly wrinkled; orangish buff when young, darkening to orangish brown or cinnamon brown; flesh whitish, sometimes staining brownish in places when sliced.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: Surface negative with KOH, greenish with iron salts.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 8-12 x 4-6 µ; broadly egg-shaped; smooth.


REFERENCES: (Corner, 1950) Methven, 1989. (Methven, 1990.) Herb. Kuo 09220607.


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Clavariadelphus americanus



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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2007, April). Clavariadelphus americanus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/clavariadelphus_americanus.html