Figure 396.—Clavaria pistillaris. One-half natural size.
Pistillaris is from pistillum, a pestle.
They are simple, large, stuffed, fleshy, everywhere smooth, three to ten inches high, attaining to one inch in thickness; light yellow, ochraceous, brownish, chocolate, club-shaped, ovate-rounded, puckered at the top; flesh white, spongy. The spores are white, 10×5µ.
They are found in the leaf-mold of mixed woods, and you will sometimes find several growing together. They are found from July to frost.
The dark variety, which is frequently vertically wrinkled, is slightly acrid when raw, but this disappears upon cooking. The plant is widely distributed but abundant nowhere in our state. I found it occasionally in the woods near Chillicothe. The plants in Figure 396 were found near Columbus, and were photographed by Dr. Kellerman of Ohio State University.
Clavaria fusiformis. Sow.
Spindle-Shaped Clavaria. Edible.
