Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms and How to Distinguish Them / A Selection of Thirty Native Food Varieties Easily Recognizable by their Marked Individualities, with Simple Rules for the Identification of Poisonous Species

by W. Hamilton Gibson

THE WHITE CORAL FUNGUS

Clavaria coralloides

The true "coral fungus"—Clavaria coralloides—of our woods resembles C. formosa in general shape, but its color is white, or perhaps pale gray. Its thick stem is hollow, and its uneven, crowded branches are brittle and flesh-white. Its odor is like that of the Agaricus campestris, and it possesses a sweet, pleasant flavor. Cordier recommends it as eatable even when raw. This species is in great favor in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, where it is desiccated for winter use.

PLATE XXX
THE CORAL FUNGUS

Clavaria formosa

Thickly branched from a stout pale base, the dense branchlets being tipped with two or three minute teeth.

Color: Saffron yellow. Tips generally darker and more rosy.

Flesh: White.