Summary:
Features include 1) a spherical to irregular fruitbody with the surface pallid then flushed buff and finally dingy ochraceous over some areas and dingy vinaceous over others, 2) a spore mass that is pallid when young and soon yellow when cut, 3) gregarious growth in a rotten conifer log, 4) chemical characters including change of surface to black with FeSO4, and 5) microscopic characters including smooth, truncate, elliptic to oval spores. It is rare in the Pacific Northwest (Trappe(13)).

Chemical Reactions:
KOH on fresh surface dingy purplish or, where the color has changed to ochraceous, a rusty brown, FeSO4 on fresh surface slowly black, (Smith(30))

Interior:
pallid when young, soon cadmium yellow when cut, (Smith(4)), chambers large for genus; pallid when fresh but soon changing to cadmium when cut, drying a dingy olive-brown, (Smith(30))

Odor:
none (Smith(30))

Microscopic:
spores 8-10 x 4.5-6(6.5) microns, elliptic to oval and truncate at the sterigmal attachment from a broad scar, smooth, pale ochraceous in Melzer''s reagent, pale ochraceous in KOH singly and near orange-ochraceous in mass in KOH, wall slightly thickened (0.33 microns), with an "oil drop" as revived in KOH but this disappearing in Melzer''s reagent; basidia 30-40 x 8-10 microns, cylindric, thin-walled, soon collapsing; cystidia none; paraphyses "of the ellipsoid to oval type and arising from an inflated cell 16-25 x 8-13 microns"; subhymenial layer "not truly distinct but hymenial layer 2-3 cells deep from chains of inflated cells"; tramal plates of subgelatinous narrow (3-8 microns wide) thin-walled smooth hyphae (in KOH and Melzer''s reagent), "budding off hymenial elements laterally, often enlarged at point of branching"; peridium a layer of interwoven hyphae 2-6 microns wide, (fresh), colorless, with some incrusting debris, no enlarged (swollen) cells present, "the hyphae of the context dingy rusty to vinaceous in KOH and with considerable debris present", "the layer very tough and difficult to separate the component hyphae"; clamp connections none; all tissues inamyloid, (Smith(30))

Notes:
The known distribution in the Pacific Northwest is southwestern BC to ID (Trappe(13)), The holotype is from ID (Smith(30)).

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Ascobolus carneus Pers.
Ascophanus carneus (Pers. per Pers.) Boud.