Clavaria pyxidata

Clavaria pyxidata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Basidiomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Clavariaceae
Genus:	Clavaria
Binomial name
Clavaria pyxidata L.

Clavaria pyxidata is a species of mushroom. The common names of the species is Color Fig and Crown-tipped Coral.

Description

The fruiting bodies grow out of rotten wood. The species rarely grows from the ground.^[1] The upward branches are large and end in a crown of toothlike projections. The color of the fruiting bodies vary from whitish to pale yellow. When the mushroom becomes older, the base often becomes dingy brown.^[2] The stem is thin.^[3] The height of the species is anywhere from 2.5 to 7.5 centimeters.^[4] The spores are white. The species Clavaria coronata resembles this species because of the tips of the branches.^[5] Author George Massee said in an 1892 text-book that said that the species is well known by the hollowed out tips of the branches.^[1] The name pyxidata is from the Greek word "pyxis" which means small box.^[6] The species is fragile.^[3] The species is easily recognized even when it is dried because of the crown of branches on the top.^[7]

Edibility

The species is edible and the book The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide says that it is popular among many people. When the species becomes old, the mushroom is stringy and has an inferior flavor.^[2] In Volume 54 edition of Report in 1902 said that the mushroom is peppery to the taste.^[8] The authors of Mushrooms and other fungi of the midcontinental United States said that the species is reported to be mildly flavored, but becomes tough with age.^[7]

Habitat

The species can be commonly found among United States forests and the aspen country of Canada on hardwood, or very rarely on conifers in June and early July^[2] In 1900, a book said that only one specimen was found in Ohio.^[9]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Massee, George (1892). British fungus-flora: A classified text-book of mycology, Volume 1. G. Bell & sons. pp. 79. http://books.google.com/books?id=ojwVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA79&dq=Clavaria+pyxidata&ei=mMNgS4AhprwzvvXJ6wg&cd=4#v=onepage&q=Clavaria%20pyxidata&f=false. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} H. Smith, Alexander (1974). The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide. University of Michigan Press. pp. 113. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Elisha Hard, Miron (1908). The mushroom, edible and otherwise. The Ohio library co.. pp. 465. http://books.google.com/books?id=Bd0UAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA465&dq=Clavaria+pyxidata&lr=&ei=uclgS5PfGY6OMv-z_NsI&cd=33#v=onepage&q=Clavaria%20pyxidata&f=false. 
4. ^ Sayer Moffatt, Will (1909). The higher Fungi of the Chicago region. The Academy. pp. 142. http://books.google.com/books?id=jDoVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA142&dq=Clavaria+pyxidata&lr=&ei=6sdgS5nVNZnGNa3XmNEI&cd=22#v=onepage&q=Clavaria%20pyxidata&f=false. 
5. ^ Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters (1914). Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Volume 17, Part 2. Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. pp. 836. http://books.google.com/books?id=jm9IAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA836&dq=Clavaria+pyxidata&ei=mMNgS4AhprwzvvXJ6wg&cd=2#v=onepage&q=Clavaria%20pyxidata&f=false. 
6. ^ C. Roody, William (2003). Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 424. ISBN 9780813190396. http://books.google.com/books?id=5HGMPEiy4ykC&pg=PA424&dq=Clavaria+pyxidata&lr=&ei=6sdgS5nVNZnGNa3XmNEI&cd=27#v=onepage&q=Clavaria%20pyxidata&f=false. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Multiple authors (2008). Mushrooms and other fungi of the midcontinental United States. University of Iowa Press. pp. 185. ISBN 9781587296277. http://books.google.com/books?id=tl2fVAHuej4C&pg=PA180&dq=Clavaria+pyxidata&lr=&ei=x8xgS-yDF4-0NKKT4esI&cd=190#v=onepage&q=Clavaria%20pyxidata&f=false. 
8. ^ New York State Museum (1902). Report, Volume 54, Part 1. The University of Michigan. pp. 172. http://books.google.com/books?id=567OAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA172&dq=Clavaria+pyxidata&lr=&ei=HMtgS9PXApG-MuummdII&cd=50#v=onepage&q=Clavaria%20pyxidata&f=false. 
9. ^ Wisconsin Natural History Society; Milwaukee Public Museum (1900). Bulletin of the Wisconsin Natural History Society, Volumes 1–2. The Society. pp. 47. http://books.google.com/books?id=BzVEAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA47&dq=Clavaria+pyxidata&lr=&ei=N8ZgS8KCCJj0NO_fvMwI&cd=14#v=onepage&q=Clavaria%20pyxidata&f=false.