Ramariopsis kunzei
Rev. Nied. Homob. Aphyll. 2: 89. 1933.
Common Name: none
Fruiting body, shrubby, up to 8.0 cm tall, 7.0 cm broad, consisting of multiple, often twisted branches, either separate or partially fused at the base; branches slightly flattened, forked dichotomously three to four times, the forks typically u-shaped, tips rounded to pointed; surface of branches glabrous above, pubescent below, whitish to cream-buff, sometimes tinged pinkish in age; context brittle, fragile, whitish, unchanging when cut; odor mild; taste mild.
Spores 3.5-5.0 x 3.0-4.0 µm, subglobose, to broadly obovate, warted, hilar appendage conspicuous, inamyloid; spore print white.
Solitary to scattered in mixed hardwood-conifer woods; fruiting from after the fall rains to late winter.
Edible, but of little value.
This small, whitish coral is characterized by a brittle texture and a dichotomous branch pattern, with u-shaped forks. Clavulina cristata is similar but has multi-toothed branch tips (unless parasitized), and is not nearly so fragile. Additionally these two species in the S.F. Bay Area tend to grow in different habitats, Clavulina cristata with pines, Ramariopsis kunzei in mixed woods. Microscopically the two species are also distinct. Clavulina cristata has two-spored basidia, the spores smooth, while Ramariopsis kunzei has four-spored basidia, the spores warted.
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