Clavariei, or Club-Shaped Fungi
We now come to another order, Clavariei, of which the first genus is Clavaria, from a word meaning a club. They are fleshy fungi, not coriaceous. They have no distinct stem and generally grow on the ground. We will mention a few of those we often see. They somewhat resemble coral in growth but not in color.
Clavaria Stricta = to Draw Tight — The Constricted Clavaria
This Clavaria grows on trunks of trees. It is of a pale yellowish color, becoming a dusky brown (fuscous) when bruised. The base is about 3 lines long, thick and much branched. The branches and branchlets are tense and straight, crowded, adpressed and acute. Stevenson says that this species is uncommon in Great Britain.
Clavaria Flava = Yellow — The Pale Yellow Clavaria
Stevenson does not mention this species, so it may be peculiar to this country. Stem is short and stout, thick, and abruptly dissolves into a dense mass of erect branches nearly parallel. The tips are yellow but fade when old. It branches below and the stems are whitish. Flesh white. It is recommended as well flavored and edible.
Clavaria Pistillaris = a Pestle — The Large Club Clavaria
This species belongs to the largest of the unbranched kind. It is generally 3 to 5 inches high, and ½ to ⅔ of an inch thick at top. Light yellow color, then reddish, and dingy brown in decay. It is smooth and the flesh soft and white. It is rounded at the top and club-shaped. It tapers downward toward the base. Stevenson gives the height from 6 to 12 inches, but Professor Peck says he has not seen it as large in this country. It is found in open grassy places. It was late in the autumn when we discovered it. (Edible.)
Clavaria Inequalis = Unequal — The Unequal Clavaria
This fungus is yellow and fragile. The clubs are alike in color, simple or forked, and variable. It is common in woods and pastures. We found it in September in the woods, rather wrinkled in appearance. It is not classed among the edible species.
Typhula = Reed Mace
One may sometimes see among the dead leaves in the woods, minute slender bodies with thread-like stems, springing up from the ground, 2 to 3 inches high, of a white color and cylindrical in shape. They look like slender stems from which the blossoms have been plucked. They are called Typhula. They grow on dead leaves, on mosses, or on dead herbaceous stems. The name is taken from the Cat Tail family, the Typhaceae, which they somewhat resemble in miniature.
Schizophyllum Commune = to Split, a Leaf and Common — The Common Schizophyllum
There is but one species given by Stevenson of this genus, and, as the name demonstrates, it is common, at least in this country. In Great Britain it is rare. It grows on dead wood and logs. It has zones, either of gray or white color, and it is turned up at the edge (revolute). There is no flesh, and the pileus is dry. The gills are branched fan-wise. It is not a typical Agaric, but is more like some Polyporei. The gills are split longitudinally at the edge, and the two lips commonly turn backward (revolute).
Hirneola Auricula Judae. — The Jew’s Ear
There is one species belonging to the order Tremellodon that is quite common. It is called the Jew’s ear. It is a very peculiar-looking fungus, shaped somewhat like the human ear, of all sizes, and grows in great quantities in the same place. It looks as if it were composed of a thick jelly, and becomes soft and tremulous when damp. Its color is dark, sometimes almost black. It is tough and cup-shaped, with ridges across it like an ear. The generic name, Hirneola, means a jug, and the specific name, Auricula Judae, a Jew’s ear.