Clavaria circinans.
(After Peck.)
C. cir´cinans Pk.—circino, to make round. (Plate [CXLII].) Stem short, solid, dichotomously or subverticillately branched. Branches slightly diverging or nearly parallel, nearly equal in length, the ultimate ones terminating in two or more short acute concolorous ramuli. Spores ochraceous.
Plant 1–2 in. high, obconic in outline, flat-topped, appearing almost as if truncated, pallid or almost whitish in color, generally growing in imperfect circles or curved lines.
Under spruce and balsam trees. Adirondack mountains. August. Peck, 39th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
Where pines have grown, but where now oak and chestnut trees make rather open woods, it grows at Mt. Gretna, Pa. A stumpy fungus impressing one as stunted. Its texture is solid. It does not cook tender, but yields a fungus flavor to the cooking medium.
C. stric´ta Pers.—stringo, to draw tight. Height 2–3 in. Color pale dull-yellow becoming brown when bruised. Stem distinct, thick, short. Branches numerous, repeatedly forked, straight, closely pressed, tips pointed.
Spores dark cinnamon, Fries; creamy yellow 4×6µ W.G.S.
Var. fu´mida. The whole plant is a dingy, smoky-brownish hue, otherwise of the typical form. Catskill mountains. September. In the fresh state the specimens appear very unlike the ordinary form, but in the dried state they are scarcely to be distinguished. Peck, 41st Rep. N.Y. State Bot.