Club fungi Home

Violet coral  (Clavaria zollingeri)

Club fungi belong to the basidiomycetes and consist, as the name suggests, of finger-like fruitbodies that often grow together in dense clusters. They can be both with and without branches.The club fungi are a very diverse group, but club fungi growing mainly in grasslands and meadows belong to the family Clavariaceae and include the genera Clavaria, Clavulinopsis and Ramariopsis.

The genera Clavulina and Alloclavaria are more related to forests, but some species are found in grasslands. Both belong systematically to completely different groups. The larger coral-fungi belong to the genus Ramaria in the family Ramariaceae. These are also mainly related to forest biotopes and not included here.

The club fungi we find in grasslands have varying colors and branching. In the largest genus Clavaria, most are unbranched, with the exception of the conspicuous and beautiful violet coral (Clavaria zollingeri) depicted above. Many are white to gray, while others have brown and yellow colors.

Ecology

Many of the species within Clavaria are demanding species that prefer old, non-fertilized, often base-rich pastures. Many species are red-listed and are good indicators for the appearance of other rare and red-listed fungi. Most species in the genus Clavulinopsis, which are mostly yellow, are smaller and are often found in areas with less species diversity.

References:

Knudsen, H. 2012.  Clavariaceae. I  Hansen, L. & Knudsen, H.(red) Nordic

Macromycetes. Nordsvamp - Copenhagen.