Introduction - click to expand Ramaria are corals with striate, spiny, or warty spores. They may be quite colourful or blah, and found either on the ground or on wood. Clavulina are blah corals on the ground with smooth spores. Lentaria are blah corals on wood with smooth spores. Other coral fungi are found in various other places in the fungal tree, it is a somewhat common shape. Phaeoclavulina - with spiny spores (sharper than the warts found in the various subgenera of Ramaria. They have rhizomorphs and are found on the ground and the colours are usually yellowish blah. They seem to form a well supported clade together, but the true Lentaria (Lentaria A) with smooth spores are found near or inside this genus and a multi-gene study needs to sort out that relationship. Ramaria subgenus Ramaria - with striate spores, usually colourful on the branch tips only and with amyloid flesh. Most are of the cauliflower shape with a single large stem and only short abortive branches growing out of it. Found on the ground. They form a well supported clade together. Ramaria subgenus Lentoramaria - usually with warty spores (duller and rounder than the sharp spines of Phaeoclavulina) usually blah to yellowish-blaw coloured (occasionally pinkish), with rhizomorphs, and found either on the ground or on wood. Ramaria subgenus Laeticolora - also usually with warty spores, but usually brightly coloured both on the branches and their tips. The flesh is usually not amyloid. Many are not strongly cauliflower shaped, but have some other coral form. Found on the ground, usually without rhizomorphs. This large subgenus has been divided into two based on whether a species has clamp connections or not, but that has little or no taxonomic value. It can, however, greatly aid in identification. Unfortunately, Ramaria subgenus Lentoramaria may have to be split into 4 cryptic genera, unless Clavariadelphus (clubs, not corals), our Lentaria B species, and associated crust genera are all lumped together as Clavariadelphus, but then that genus would contain both clubs and corals. A multi-gene study is needed to sort this out. Even more unfortunately, Ramaria subgenus Ramaria and Ramaria subgenus Laeticolor are in one big clade with Gomphus, Turbinellus, and Gautieria, etc. This means that either false chanterelles and corals will all be in one large genus Gomphus (the oldest name), or Ramaria subgenus Laeticolor may have to be split into a bunch of cryptic genera (my first guess is 9 genera)! Neither is an ideal solution. It is fascinating to have learned that false chanterelles and corals evolved back and forth so many times. It's easier to see how gilled and pored mushrooms evolved back and forth, you can picture pores as gills that are pinched together every once in a while to form the pores. But I cannot fathom why the two very different shapes of Gomphus/Turbinellus and Ramaria evolved back and forth so many times. See this tree. DO NOT BOTHER to try and identify a Ramaria if it is not young and fresh. Every species soon becomes the same dull yellow-orange-brown. Things you need to know to identify a Ramaria: colours of a very fresh fruiting body cauliflower shaped or not? (one large stem with many short branches, versus a collection of individual stems and/or long branches) when you cut into the stem, is there a translucent gelatinous substance mixed in with the white flesh? when you cut into the stem, is there a rusty brown section of flesh? ("rusty root") is a band of yellow the first colour you see above the white stem base before the orange or other colours of the branches? ("yellow belly band") are there red-wine coloured stains on the base? ("wine staining base") is the colour pattern peachy/salmond coloured branches with yellow tips? ("formosa" colours) does the stem flesh turn black in iodone? ("amyloid") does the stem flesh turn green in FeSO4? the kind of ornamentation of the spores (smooth, striate, warty or spiny) the size of the spores whether or not there are clamps on the basidia abundant common uncommon rare - colour codes match my Pictorial Key and are my opinions and probably reflect my bias of living in W WA. Rare species may be locally common in certain places at certain times. Click here to download the FASTA data of all my DNA sequences

Phaeoclavulina - click to expand Species mentioned: Phaeoclavulina eumorpha, corrugata, myceliosa, curta, abietina, argentea, glaucoaromatica, mutabilis, incognita.   Phaeoclavulina 'abietina PNW01' - a small (<5 cm tall) blah coral that stains green. Ramaria apiculata and Ramaria tsugina, below, may have greenish branches but they are found on wood. Phaeoclavulina abietina is a complex of species, and the one that occurs here is not the same as the real one that occurs in the EU (although the real one occurs in Northern Alberta). Holzapfel calls ours "complex B-IV". Sequenced once from OR so far. Phaeoclavulina PNW02 - also stains green. It should be investigated if this is Phaeoclavulina glaucoaromatica TN or Phaeoclavulina mutabilis EU. Sequenced a few times from WA and OR. Phaeoclavulina PNW03 - also stains green. One WA collection with unique DNA (the only thing similar is a sequence from Montana 7 bp different). It seemed especially yellow, and not as blah as expected. It had white rhizomorphs and some green staining where cut or handled. Phaeoclavulina glaucoaromatica TN - a larger green staining species (5-15cm tall) with a white stem base that smells of maple syrup when dried, with large spores (~10u long). It has been reported from ID. No DNA yet from anywhere. Phaeoclavulina mutabilis EU - 5-15 cm tall, staining green only on the stem. Spores average 6.5u long. It has been reported throughout the PNW. No DNA yet from anywhere. Phaeoclavulina eumorpha EU - a blah coral with yellow rhizomorphs, spores averaging ~7.5u long. We have EU type area DNA and local DNA from BC and WA to prove it's here. Phaeoclavulina curta EU - a small (<5 cm tall) blah species with the smallest spores (<5u long) that have the smallest spines (<0.3u). We have some EU sequences that have a good chance of being this species, one one BC sequence is 2 bp and an indel or two different. Phaeoclavulina myceliosa CA - much like R. curta, with similar spores, but this coral has branches that are a little more open.  We don't have any western DNA, and we don't really know if this is distinct from P. curta or not. Some say it is, but we have a few EU sequences purporting to be this, and those sequences are distinct from R. curta. We need collections. Phaeoclavulina argentea EU - another blah coral with a stem that bruises brown and spores averaging ~6.5u long with spines <=1.2u long. It was reported from ID. We have ENA DNA purporting to be this, but no EU type area nor local DNA. Phaeoclavulina incognita TN - very similar to P. argentea and some synonymize them. It is said the tips are less likely to turn white in this species. The spores are said to average ~7.5u long with spines <=2u long. We have no DNA yet from anywhere yet, to show if this is indeed a distinct species. Phaeoclavulina PNW02 © iNaturalist user ellenkr,     P. PNW03 © Steve Ness (2 images),     P. eumorpha © Daniel Winkler

Ramaria subgenus Lentoramaria - click to expand These species appear in four different clades in the tree, so if the genus needs to be split, I have numbered the clades from 1 to 4. Species mentioned: Ramaria (1) gracilis, testaceoflava, apiculata, rainierensis, tsugina, (2) stricta, concolor (3) rubella (4) suecica.   Lentoramaria1 Terrestrial Ramaria gracilis EU - found on the ground, with the smallest spores in the whole subgenus, averaging ~6u long. Easily confused with various Phaeoclavulina. We have a bunch of EU type area sequences, and a couple of OR sequences match them. Ramaria rainierensis WA - similar, also found on the ground, nondescript and very much like various Phaeoclavulina and R. suecica, but with dimitic rhizomorphs and with oddly ornamented clamps. We have the type sequence. Ramaria testaceoflava EU var. brunnea NM - a rather erect coral found on the ground with somewhat chocolate branches with yellowish tips, staining brown where handled. DNA recently showed this is a Lentoramaria and not a Laeticolora (it always was rather blah for a Laeticolora and it does have rhizomorphs). EU type area sequences of the type variety that does not stain brown are about 3 bp different than our local variety sequences, so I am considering ours a distinct variety. unsequenced Ramaria gracilis © C D Marr,     Ramaria testaceoflava var. brunnea © Mary McCallum Lignicolous Ramaria 'apiculata PNW45' - found on wood, upper branches and tips greenish like some green terrestrial Phaeoclavulina. Our one local sequence purpurting to be the EU species R. apiculata does not match a couple of EU sequences and may need a new name. We should also check if the real thing occurs here too. Ramaria apiculata EU var. brunnea MI - also on wood, lacking the green tones but possibly recognizable by monomitic rhizomorphs and spores averaging ~10u long. It is reported throughout the PNW. We have the type sequence, but no local DNA yet to compare. Ramaria apiculata var. compacta EU - like var. brunnea, but with many, many congested branches. It was reported from ID. No DNA yet from anywhere. Ramaria tsugina WA - also on wood and may have green tones, but with dimitic rhizomorphs and slightly smaller spores averaging ~9u long. We have the type sequence and matching recent sequences. Ramaria tsugina © Shannon Beers and Steve Ness   Lentoramaria2 - erect on wood Ramaria stricta EU - an tall, erect coral on wood with yellow tones in the branches, dimitic hyphae, and spores averaging ~8u long. We have a bunch of EU type area sequences, and matching local sequences. Ramaria stricta var. concolor ID - lacks the yellow tones, but usually more erect than other similar blah species on wood that only have monomitic hyphae and longer spores. Some consider it its own species, Ramaria concolor ID, but the type sequence of local var. concolor has the same ITS sequence as EU type area sequences of the type variety. Ramaria stricta var. concolor forma marrii TN - less erect, but branches more curved and open. We have no ITS sequences, but LSU sequences almost exactly mach LSU sequences of the other varieties. It has been reported from ID and WA. Ramaria PNW14 - no information yet. ~70% support for being in Lentoramaria2. It is known from a couple of WA and a couple of OR sequences. Ramaria stricta © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History,     Ramaria PNW14 © Danny Miller   Lentoramaria3 - pink tones Ramaria rubella EU - with pinkish branches when fresh, a greyish-brown stem, and rhizomorphs that turn pink in KOH. We have a bunch of EU type area sequences, and matching local sequences. Ramaria rubella forma blanda CA - also with pinkish branches, but with a whiter stem and rhizomorphs that turn yellow in KOH. It is reported from BC and WA. It has the same ITS sequence as the type variety. Ramaria rubella © Steve Ness   Lentoramaria4 Ramaria suecica (=Ramaria circinans var. anceps WA) - found on the ground, nondescript and very much like various Phaeoclavulina but with different spore ornamentation. It is also like R. rainierensis, but with monomitic rhizomorphs and with regular, unornamented clamps, and like R. gracilis but with bigger spores. R. suecica has a slight variation in ITS, maybe 1%, between the EU type area and our area. We likely have the real thing, but just in case we don't, we do already have a local name for our species, Ramaria circinans var. anceps WA. The type variety of R. circinans NY is distinct in LSU. unsequenced Ramaria suecica © Ron Exeter

Ramaria subgenus Ramaria - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria botrytis, subviolacea, rubrievanescens, rubripermanens, aurantiiramosa.   Ramaria 'subviolacea PNW01' complex - violet tinged tips only when young, later mostly off-white. Other purple Ramaria are not as cauliflower-like, have purple not just on the tips, and lack amyloid flesh. This is our best guess as to what R. subviolacea ID is, with spores averaging 14u long. If it's not in this complex, we need to figure out what it is. Either this is a species with variation in ITS of 2%, or there are 3 species in this complex. Ramaria rubrievanescens WA - with pink branch tips only when young and fresh (fading to whitish like the branches themselves). The stem discolours brown and the spores average 12u long. Only LSU has been sequenced of the type. We need ITS sequences. Ramaria 'rubrievanescens PNW09' - 3.5% different in LSU from the type sequence, we have ITS of this species. I don't know how to tell it apart from R. rubrievanescens. Ramaria PNW08 - mostly off white when mature, perhaps the branch tips are a little peachy when young. Ramaria rubripermanens WA - with reddish (or at least dark) branch tips even when somewhat mature, sometimes found in the spring. The spores average 12u long. Ramaria 'botrytis PNW02' - also with reddish (or at least dark) branch tips even when somewhat mature, but with larger spores averaging 14u long. Our species is distinct from the EU species and probably needs a new name. Ramaria aurantiiramosa WA - similar to R. botrytis with similarly sized spores, but with orange branch tips when young. It was formerly a variety of R. botrytis, but it is not closely related enough. Ramaria PNW04 - a spring yellow cauliflower-like coral easily mistaken for R. rasilispora and R. magnipes in subgenus Laeticolora, but this species will likely have amyloid flesh and the branches themselves should be paler (mostly the tips show the colour). Ramaria PNW07 - no information yet. Sequenced twice from OR. Ramaria PNW10 - no information yet, except that the branches might be rather stubby. Sequenced once from BC and once from OR. Ramaria 'subviolacea PNW01' © Noah Siegel (fresh) and Michael Beug (not as fresh) Ramaria PNW08 © Mary McCallum,     Ramaria PNW04 © Mary McCallum Ramaria 'botrytis PNW02' © Jonathan Frank and Steve Ness,     Ramaria rubripermanens © Jenny Lippert,     unsequenced Ramaria aurantiiramosa © C D Marr

Ramaria subgenus Laeticolora - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria botrytoides, aureoprimulina n.p., gelatiniaurantia, leptoformosa, rubricarnata, sandaracina, spinulosa, marrii, fumosiavellanea, acrisiccescens, rubribrunnescens, rasilisporoides, celerivirescens, claviramulata, rubiginosa, vinosimaculans, velocimutans, synaptopoda, gelatinosa var. oregonensis, stuntzii, maculatipes, cyaneigranosa, magnipes, rasilispora, coulterae, verlotensis, araiospora, longispora, fennica, violaceibrunnea, formosa, flavobrunnescens, cartilaginea, caulifloriformis, conjunctipes, largentii, aurantiisiccescens, amyloidea, flavigelatinosa, thiersii, cystidiophora, armeniaca, distinctissima var. americana, hilaris var. olympiana,  purpurissima, raveneliana. Species with Purple - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria purpurissima, violaceibrunnea, fennica, fumosiavellanea   Ramaria purpurissima ID - bright purple upper branches and tips when fresh, cauliflower-like. Clamps. An inland species. We do not have sequences yet. Ramaria coulterae ID - illustrated below in the red section, usually with red tips but the tips can sometimes be purplish. The upper branches will be white. Spring. Cauliflower-like. Clampless. Ramaria violaceibrunnea WA (=Ramaria fennica EU var. violaceibrunnea WA) - duller smoky-purple upper branches and tips (whiter base), not cauliflower-like. Clamps. R. violaceibrunnea was formerly a variety of Ramaria fennica EU, and is probably closely enough related that it could still be considered a variety of it. We have the type sequence and several recent local matching sequences. Ramaria acrisiccescens WA (=Ramaria fumosiavellanea WA) - some collections of Ramaria acrisiccescens are overall smoky-violet (without the whiter base) instead of overall pale, but the ITS type sequence of R. fumosiavellanea matches sequences of R. acrisiccescens. Clampless. Ramaria subviolacea is found above in subgenus Ramaria due to it being cauliflower-like with purple only on the tips and having amyloid flesh. unsequenced Ramaria purpurissima © Andrew Parker,     Ramaria violaceibrunnea © Mary McCallum,     Ramaria fumosiavellanea holotype © C D Marr Red and Pink Species - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria botrytoides, coulterae, stuntzii, araiospora, cyaneigranosa   Ramaria botrytoides NY - pale branches except for reddish branch tips, cauliflower-like like R. botrytis but with inamyloid flesh. Fall species. Clamps rare. No DNA from anywhere yet, and no recent local collections to prove the couple of reports that it might be in the PNW. Ramaria coulterae ID - similar to R. botrytoides with a cauliflower-like form, white branches, and young reddish to purplish tips, but spring fruiting and with a "rusty root". Clampless. It is a sister species of PNW26, with only yellow tips found so far in that species. We have the type sequence and a more recent matching WA/ID border sequence. Ramaria stuntzii WA - red branches and tips, flesh amyloid. Sometimes cauliflower-like. Clampless. We have the type sequence. Ramaria araiospora WA - red branches with yellow tips, not cauliflower-like. Inamyloid and clampless. Spore widths average <3.5u. We have WA and OR sequences. We have a number of local sequences. Ramaria araiospora var. rubella WA - red branches and tips, not cauliflower-like. Inamyloid and clampless. Local ITS sequences are not different than the type variety. Ramaria cyaneigranosa WA - similar reddish branches with perhaps yellow on the tips, clampless. Differentiated from R. araiospora by wider spores, averaging >4.5u. We have the the type sequence and some more recent matching sequences. Ramaria cyaneigranosa var. persicina WA - branches more salmon coloured. Sequences of this variety do not seem to be different in ITS than the type variety. Ramaria cyaneigranosa var. elongata WA - reddish branches and tips. Some purported sequences (PNW39, see below) are only distantly related to R. cyaneigranosa, so we need a type sequence to find out if this needs elevation to species. If it isn't PNW39, we need to figure out what it is. Ramaria PNW39 - our 2 OR collections resembled R. cyaneigranosa var. elongata (a clampless species) so this needs more investigation. This species is closest in the tree to clamped species with a gelatinous stem context. Ramaria verlotensis WA - a gelatinous cauliflower-like species with pinkish-yellow branches, illustrated under the gelatinous species below. Clampless. Ramaria coulterae © Andrew Parker,     Ramaria stuntzii © Justin Bartella,     Ramaria araiospora var. rubella © Mary McCallum,     R. cyaneigranosa © Steve Ness Gelatinous stem context - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria gelatinosa var. oregonensis, gelatiniaurantia, hilaris var. olympiana, sandaracina, flavigelatinosa, cystidiophora var. fabiolens, verlotensis   Orange Species Ramaria gelatinosa var. oregonensis OR - the species with the most gelatinous stem context. It is an orange coral with clamps. Spores average ~9 x 5u. Ramaria gelatinosa was a re-using of a name that had already been taken, rendering it an illegal name, so this variety needs elevation to species. We have the type sequence and a number of more recent matching sequence. Ramaria gelatiniaurantia WA (=Ramaria hilaris var. olympiana WA) - a distinctively gelatinous orange coral without clamps and a yellow belly band below the orange colours that is lacking in R. gelatinosa var. oregonensis. Spores average ~9 x 4u. We have the type sequence. The LSU type sequence of R. hilaris var. olympiana (a local variety of a species from Yunnan) matches that of the type sequence of R. gelatiniaurantia, so it is probably a newer synonyn, which is just as well as the variety wasn't described legally anyway. Ramaria gelatiniaurantia var. violeitingens WA - similar, bruising dull violet. The type sequence matches that of the type variety in ITS. Ramaria sandaracina WA - a somewhat gelatinous species with a yellow belly band like R. gelatiniaurantia but with clamps like R. gelatinosa var. oregonensis. Occasional greyish-violet bruising. Spores average ~8 x 4u. It will be difficult to recognize if there is not much gelatinous-ness. We have the type sequence. Ramaria sandaracina var. chondrobasis WA - a slightly wider coral (>8cm wide). The type sequence is not really distinct in ITS from the type variety's type sequence. Ramaria sandaracina var. euosma WA - with yellow tips, the type sequence matched the type sequence of R. gelatiniaurantia, which lacks clamps. There must have been some mixup. We should probably not use this variety name. Ramaria gelatinosa var. oregonensis (unsequenced and sequenced) © Michael Beug, NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History Ramaria gelatiniaurantia holotype © C D Marr,     R. gelatiniaurantia © Buck McAdoo,     R. gelatiniaurantia var. violeitingens © Mary McCallum Ramaria sandaracina © Shannon Wright and Mary McCallum   Yellow Species Ramaria flavigelatinosa WA - yellow coral without clamps. Spores average ~10 x 4-5u. We don't have any reliable sequences, we need a type sequence. Ramaria flavigelatinosa var. fragrans WA - with a sweet odor. We have no sequences yet. Ramaria flavigelatinosa var. carnisalmonea WA - the interior flesh is peachy and that may affect the colour of the upper branches. We have no reliable sequences. Ramaria flavigelatinosa var. megalospora WA - also with peachy interior flesh, but longer spores, averaging ~12 x 4.5u. We have no reliable sequences. Ramaria PNW15 - a usually yellow species with gelatinous stem context. If it lacks clamps, it's possible this is R. flavigelatinosa var. megalospora, as the spore size matched in one collection. If it has clamps, it's possible it could be Ramaria cystidiophora var. fabiolens, which would need promotion to species. It's been sequenced almost a half dozen times locally. Ramaria cystidiophora var. fabiolens WA - is said to have a slightly gelatinous context. It is bright yellow and more coral-like than the other varieties, so it could conceivably represent PNW15. Ramaria PNW15 © Michael Beug   Unknown/Other Species Ramaria verlotensis WA - with peachy pinkish-yellow branches, but not distinctly "formosa" like.  Clampless. The type was from Verlot, WA in the fall, probably above 1000'. We have the type sequence. Ramaria PNW40 - closest to R. verlotensis, this species has been labeled all kinds of different names of orange/peachy species when collected. It is a high elevation fall species. Our one photo shows mostly orange with hints of peachy pink. Ramaria PNW16 - genetically closest to gelatinous species. One of the names given to our one OR collection by Exeter is R. cartilaginea, but that could be something else. Ramaria PNW37 - also genetically close to gelatinous species. Nothing is known about it. Ramaria PNW38 - also genetically close to gelatinous species. Nothing is known about it. Ramaria verlotensis holotype © C D Marr,     Ramaria PNW40 © Steve Ness (2 images) Rusty Root - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria amyloidea, velocimutans, celerivirescens, claviramulata.   Ramaria coulterae WA - illustrated in the red section above. Ramaria amyloidea WA - rusty root, branches somewhat orange when fresh, hyphae with clamps and flesh green in FeSO4. It has amyloid flesh, unusual for this subgenus. The ITS can be slightly variable, but a number of sequences show us what this is. Ramaria velocimutans WA - rusty root, a white coral aging to pale yellow, hyphae with clamps and flesh green in FeSO4. Inamyloid flesh. We have the type sequence and a recent matching sequence from OR. Ramaria celerivirescens WA (=Ramaria claviramulata WA) - rusty root, "formosa" colours (peachy branches with yellow tips). Only slowly amyloid, clampless, and flesh green in FeSO4. We have the type sequence and recent matching local collections. The type sequence of R. claviramulata has the same ITS as the type sequence of R. celerivirescens, so that appears to be an oddly formed form of R. celerivirescens with very fat branches like a bundle of Clavariadelphus, a closely related club fungus. Two undescribed clamped species that don't turn green in FeSO4 have been noted in the Ramaria monograph. No information yet. unsequenced Ramaria amyloidea © Michael Beug,     unsequenced R. velocimutans © Ron Exeter,     R. celerivirescens (normal and claviramulata form) © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History Wine Staining - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria vinosimaculans, rubiginosa, synaptopoda, cystidiophora var. maculans, rubribrunnescens, maculatipes.   Brown staining is common, but purple-red staining is more unusual. Most form one clade. Yellow Species Ramaria vinosimaculans WA - yellow branches, somewhat cauliflower-like with clamps. We have the type sequence and a recent OR sequence 2 bp and 3 indel different that probably represents the same species. Ramaria PNW18 - a sister species to R. vinosimaculans, with no way yet to tell them apart, this is also yellow and perhaps also has clamps. Sequenced twice from OR. Ramaria rubiginosa WA - another very similar yellow somewhat cauliflower-like but clampless species that is not in the same clade as the others. We have the type sequence and a couple other more recent OR sequences. Ramaria synaptopoda WA - A small yellow clampless species that is not at all cauliflower-like, closely related to R. cystidiophora. Spore length averages ~10u. We have the type sequence and a more recent WA sequence. Ramaria cystidiophora var. maculans WA - this variety is bright yellow and graceful (not at all cauliflower-like) with clamps and some wine staining. Spores average ~12 x 4u. No DNA yet. Orange/Formosa-like Species Ramaria rubribrunnescens WA - orange branches, clampless. We have the type sequence and a couple closely matching sequences from OR that are somewhat dirty sequences. Ramaria maculatipes WA - "formosa" colours. Clamps. We have the type sequence and a bunch of matching sequences from OR. Ramaria PNW19 - another species in this clade, also with a red wine staining base, twice mistaken for R. rubribrunnescens, so perhaps it is orange. Ramaria PNW20 - another species in this clade. Nothing is known about it yet. unsequenced Ramaria vinosimaculans © Michael Beug,     Ramaria PNW18 © Jenny Lippert (2 images) unsequenced R. rubiginosa © Kit Scates Barnhart,     Ramaria synaptopoda holotype © C D Marr,     Ramaria rubribrunnescens © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History,     R. maculatipes holotype © C D Marr Yellow Species - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria cystidiophora, thiersii, rasilisporoides, flavobrunnescens var. aromatica, cartilaginea, rasilispora, magnipes.   Ramaria cystidiophora WA - a bright yellow graceful coral. The branches usually have separate bases (not at all cauliflower-like), clamps. We have a few local sequences of unknown variety, but all the ITS sequences are the basically the same. Ramaria cystidiophora var. fabiolens WA - somewhat gelatinous in the stem context and less graceful and more cauliflower-like. It's possible this is not actually a variety of R. cystidophora (see PNW15 in the gelatinous section). No DNA yet. Ramaria cystidiophora var. citronella WA - yellow bruising brown. The type sequence of this variety is the same in ITS as most other sequences of unknown variety of R. cystidiophora. Ramaria cystidiophora var. maculans WA - yellow bruising reddish-brown, this is a wine staining variety. No DNA yet. Ramaria cystidiophora var. anisata CA - some salmon tones in the branches, making it look a little "formosa" like. No DNA yet. Ramaria PNW26 - white branches except for yellow branch tips, cauliflower-like. Probably spring fruiting. Closely related to R. coulterae, with red tips. Known from 3 OR sequences. Ramaria cystidiophora © Steve Ness,     Ramaria PNW26 © Jenny Lippert Ramaria thiersii CA - pale yellow branches and tips, cauliflower-like, long spores >= 12.5u long. Clamps. We have the type sequence and some matching BC and OR sequences. Ramaria rasilisporoides OR - a pale yellow cauliflower-like coral with amyloid flesh and shorter spores averaging ~9u long. Clamps. We have the type sequences and some other matching OR sequences. Ramaria flavobrunnescens NC var. aromatica WA - a sweet smelling yellow cauliflower-like coral that may occur in the spring. Spores averaging ~10.5u long. Clamps. We don't have sequences of the ENA type variety to know if this really is a variety of R. flavobrunnescens or not, but we do have four west coast sequences of this local variety. Ramaria PNW21 - probably a yellow species as our one OR sequence was mistaken for R. flavobrunnescens. Ramaria PNW23 - a sister species to R. flavobrunnescens var. aromatica. Known from one CA and one OR sequence. Ramaria cartilaginea WA - a yellow (when fresh) cauliflower-like species with a slight musty or bean odor. The name suggests it is cartilaginous, but that describes the overall texture, not the fact that there is translucent gelatin in the stem. The spores are short, averaging ~8.8 x 4.5u. One Marr collection, if labeled correctly, shows us what this sequence might be (close to R. gelatinosa var. oregonensis). Exeter thought PNW16 was R. cartilaginea. For now I'm assuming Marr was right, but we need a type sequence to verify this. Spores average <9.5u long. Clamps. Sequenced from WA and OR. Ramaria thiersii © Marty Krannabetter,     Ramaria flavobrunnescens var. aromatica © Mary McCallum,     Ramaria cartilaginea © iNaturalist user jsurdzial Ramaria PNW27 - a cauliflower-shaped yellow species from Victoria BC with a photograph, but little other data. Ramaria PWN28 - probably a yellowish species as its closest relatives are yellow. No photograph. Ramaria PNW29 - a yellow cauliflower-like mushroom that is sister to R. velocimutans but does not have a rusty root like that species does. Sequenced once from WA at high elevation.   Ramaria PNW27 © Marty Krannabetter,     Ramaria PNW29 © Mary McCallum (2 images) Spring Species Ramaria magnipes WA - spring, cauliflower-like, flesh slightly browning, spores almost smooth (warts very hard to detect) and averaging ~11.5u long. Clamps. We have a type sequence but no other sequences. Ramaria 'magnipes PNW03' - all recent local sequences have been this sister species. I don't yet know how to tell them apart, but it appears that what we usually call R. magnipes is not that, but this unnamed lookalike. Ramaria magnipes var. albidior CA - paler, almost white. Not yet known from the PNW. We have the type sequence, and it is more closely related to R. rasilispora than it is to R. magnipes, so it probably needs a name change. Ramaria rasilispora WA -also spring and cauliflower-like, but flesh not browning. The spores are also almost smooth and average a little shorter, ~10.5u long. Clamps. We have a few sequences, but not a type sequence. Ramaria rasilispora var. scatesiana ID - described with slight differences, but ITS cannot seem to distinguish the type sequence from purported sequences of the type variety. Ramaria PNW24 - a little known yellow spring fruiter that much resembles R. rasilispora but isn't in the same clade. Ramaria PNW25 - another spring sister species of PNW24, so perhaps it's also yellow. One collection was labeled R. flavigelatinosa var. carnisalmonea. Ramaria 'magnipes PNW03' © Michael Beug,     Ramaria rasilispora © Danny Miller,     Ramaria PNW24 © Jenny Lippert Orange Species - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria largentii, armeniaca, aurantiisiccescens, aureoprimulina.   Ramaria largentii WA (=Ramaria distinctissima var. americana ID?) - branches and tips bright orange, long spores >=12.5u long. Clamps. Four local sequences show us what this sequence probably is. Ramaria distinctissima var. americana supposedly differs by subtle colour differences, probably not a great way to separate species, especially since the micro is identical. Perhaps this local variety of a Yunnan species is the same thing as R. largentii. We have no DNA of it yet and we need type sequences of both species. Ramaria armeniaca ID - our only spring orange somewhat cauliflower-like species without clamps. No DNA yet. Ramaria aurantiisiccescens WA - a fall orange somewhat cauliflower like species without clamps. We have many local sequences, and ITS can vary slightly between them. Ramaria PNW41 - perhaps an orange species, as our one OR collection was misidentifed as R. sandaracina. Ramaria PNW42 - an orange species near R. largentii and R. aurantiisiccescens that has been mistaken for other orange species. Known from one fall OR collection. Ramaria PNW43 - same notes as PNW42. Known from a half dozen PNW collections. Ramaraia aureoprimulina n.p. PNW30 - based on a translation of the proposed name, probably a spring golden coloured species. Ramaria aurantiisiccescens © Mary McCallum and Steve Ness,     Ramaria PNW42 © Jonathan Frank,     Ramaria PNW43 © Mary McCallum Formosa Colours - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria formosa, leptoformosa, rubricarnata, conjunctipes, raveneliana, longispora   Peachy branches with yellow tips Ramaria 'formosa PNW05' - staining brown wherever handled. Long spores average ~12 x 5.5u. Clamps. Our ITS sequences are sufficiently distinct from EU type area sequences so our species probably needs a new name. Ramaria PNW06 - 1% different in LSU than Ramaria formosa, which is a lot, but it does seem to have that colour scheme. No details yet. We also have a short ITS2 sequence. Ramaria leptoformosa WA - not staining and more subtle formosa colouring. The spores are shorter and narrower averaging ~10.5 x 4u, also with clamps. We have the type sequence and a BC, WA, and OR sequence. Ramaria 'formosa PNW05' and PNW06 © Mary McCallum,     Ramaria leptoformosa © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History Ramaria PNW22/PNW22a - we have one WA collection (PNW22) that was not examined fresh but seemed to have yellow branches and tips, with clamps, spores 8-9x3-4u and acanthodendro-gloeopleurous hyphae, mistaken for R. cystidiophora. One BC collection (PNW22a) differs mostly in ITS2 from the WA sequence. It was fresher and had the formosa colours. Not much is known about it. Ramaria rubricarnata WA - cauliflower-like, flesh amyloid. Clamps. Sometimes this species is mostly yellow, but the interior flesh will be peachy. We have the type sequence and a couple of more recent local sequences. Ramaria rubricarnata var. pallida CA - a spring variety with long branches. Reported from CA and ID. No DNA yet. Ramaria rubricarnata var. verna CA/ID - a spring variety with short branches. No DNA yet. Ramaria PNW22 © NAMA and the Field Museum of Natural History,     Ramaria PNW22a © Marty Krannabetter,     Ramaria rubricarnata © Kathleen Dobson Ramaria conjunctipes NC var. tsugensis WA - strongly formosa-coloured but clampless, with a dense bundle of white stems below the peachy colours of the branches (R. formosa has one big white stem) and much smaller spores than R. formosa. Up to 18cm tall. Spores of all varieties probably average ~7.5u x 5u. We have the type sequence and an OR sequence. Ramaria conjunctipes PNW32 - this may be R. conjunctipes var. sparsiramosa WA, more graceful and slender than var. tsugensis and not as tall (up to 10cm). Sequenced once from WA and once from OR. Ramaria conjunctipes PNW33 - or this may be R. conjunctipes var. sparsiramosa WA. We need a type sequence to find out which it is, and we need a way to tell these two species apart. Sequenced a few times from OR. Ramaria conjunctipes PNW31 - an unknown variety in the R. conjunctipes complex. Sequenced a few times from OR. Ramaria conjunctipes PNW34 - an unknown variety in the R. conjunctipes complex. Ramaria raveneliana NC - a small (<4cm) coral. Clampless. It might be a small variety of R. conjunctipes. No DNA yet. Ramaria longispora WA - another graceful looking slender coral like R. conjuctipes, with strong formosa colouring, but usually with a slender single white stem and perhaps a yellow "belly band". The spores are much longer, 12-18u (even longer than in R. formosa) but the hyphae are clampless. Almost a dozen local sequences tell us what this sequence probably is.   unsequenced Ramaria conjunctipes var. sparsiramosa © C D Marr,     Ramaria longispora © iNaturalist user melodie52 and Steve Ness (compare the stems) Dull Colours - click to expand Species mentioned: Ramaria marrii, caulifloriformis, spinulosa var. diminutiva, acrisiccescens.   Ramaria marrii ID - cauliflower-like with brown branches. Spring. Clampless. A couple of BC sequences probably represent this species, and they differ from each other by 6 bp. Ramaria caulifloriformis MI - similar to the yellow R. cartilaginea and some consider it a synonym, but one possible east coast type area sequence suggests it might not be. It is a tan/buff cauliflower-like coral. No local sequences. Ramaria spinulosa EU var. diminutiva CA - not cauliflower-like. Brown flesh and branches. Clampless. Either this needs promoting to species, or R. marrii needs to be a variety of R. spinulosa. We have the type sequence and some matching OR sequences. Ramaria acrisiccescens WA (=Ramaria fumosiavellanea WA) - tall, erect coral, mostly white when fresh but staining brown. Clampless. Ramaria testaceoflava, in Lentoramaria, is similar but more coloured. Ramaria fumosiavellanea is similar to R. acrisiccescens, but with uniform smoky violet tones in the branches. So similar that the type sequence matches sequences of R. acrisiccescens, and it may be a synonym. They are both from 1974, but R. acrisiccescens is the more commonly used species name and was published a few pages earlier. Ramaria velocimutans WA - pure white when young, with a "rusty root" and illustrated in that section. unsequenced Ramaria marrii © Ron Exeter,     Ramaria acrisiccescens © Jonathan Frank

Back to Main Menu