Plate 80, Figure 201.—Clavaria formosa. Yellowish, red tipped when young, red disappearing in age (natural size, sometimes twice this size). Copyright.
CLAVARIA Vaill.
The genus Clavaria is one of the most common ones in the family, and is one of the most attractive from the variety and beauty of several of the species. All of the plants are more or less erect, and at least stand out from the substratum on which they grow. They are either long and simple and more or less club-shaped, as the name implies, or they are branched, some but a few times, while others are very profusely branched. The plants vary in color, some are white, some yellow, some red, and some are red-tipped, while others are brownish in color.
Figure 202.—Clavaria botrytes. Branches red tipped (natural size).
Clavaria formosa Pers. Edible.—This is one of the handsomest of the genus. It is found in different parts of the world, and has been collected in New England and in the Carolinas in this country. It is usually from 15–20 cm. high, and because of the great number of branches is often broader in extent. There is a stout stem from 2–4 cm. in diameter, deep in the ground. This branches into a few stout trunks, which then rapidly branch into slender and longer branches, terminating into numerous tips. The entire plant is very brittle, and great care is necessary to prevent its breaking, both before drying and afterward. When the plant is young and is just pushing out of the ground, the branches, especially the tips, are bright colored, red, pink, or orange, the color usually brighter when young in the younger plants. As the plant becomes older the color fades out, until at maturity the pink or red color has in many cases disappeared, and then the entire plant is of a light yellowish, or of a cream buff color. The spores are in mass light yellow, and the spores on the surface of the plant probably give the color to the plant at this stage. The spores are long, oval or oblong, 10–15 × 2.5–3 µ, and are minutely spiny. Figure [201] is from a plant (No. 4343, C. U. herbarium) collected at Blowing Rock, N. C., in September, 1899. The plant is very common in the mountain woods of North Carolina.