Summary:
Clavulina castaneipes has few to many, flattened, somewhat palmate grooved branches that are dull tan to leaden gray, on a distinct stem coated with upward pointing, fuscous ferruginous or concolorous spicules, and round or nearly round smooth spores on 2-spored basidia. Petersen distinguishes var. lignicola by the following: growing on wood or bark, stout stem (0.4-0.8cm thick) usually colored like the branches, dull tan or brown, the branches ending bluntly or obtusely, basidia and subbasidial clamp connections that are often observed, and spores averaging 10.1 x 9.3 microns. Var. castaneipes, on the other hand, has a slender stem (0.1-0.4cm thick) that is dull brown, branches that are tan or gray, and end acutely, basidial and subbasidial clamp connections that are rarely observed, and spores averaging 9.8 x 8.5 microns, (although 2 collections have spore size and clamp connections more like var. lignicola), (Peterson(23)).
C. castaneipes has been found in BC, MA, Borneo, and Zimbabwe, (Corner(3)), widely distributed in USA, NS, Japan, and Singapore, (Corner(2)). Var. lignicola collections were examined from BC, WA, and OR, and var. castaneipes collections were examined from MA, NC, NY, Japan, and Singapore, (Petersen). Clavulina castaneipes also occurs in CA (Castellano), and CT, PA, and VA, (Coker).
Fruiting body:
2-7cm high (up to 7cm in both varieties), composed of distinct stem-like part and a flattened spore-bearing area, usually branched but occasionally simple, especially in young or small plants; branches often longitudinally ridged or grooved, especially in upper parts; when simple, branches flattened, somewhat palmate and longitudinally grooved, but usually with few to several spore-producing branches that are subpalmate to palmate, flattened irregularly, rarely dichotomous, occasionally trichotomous, longitudinally grooved or ridged, especially below furcation, (Petersen), 2.5-9cm high, long-stemmed, with flattened, palmate, often few, branches, (Corner(2))
Flesh:
rather fibrous-tough, especially in the stem, (Corner(2))
Branch color:
when simple, some shade of dull tan to leaden gray, retaining color well on drying, branches somewhat light in color when fresh, but colored as stem on drying, (Petersen), fuscous-ferruginous or fuscous-vinaceous, with pale ochraceous or whitish tips, drying paler, (Corner(2) for C. ornatipes: he also notes under C. castaneipes Atkinson''s sparse description of T. castaneipes which gives a simple or once-branched upper part as white or rose pink); grayish, fleshy brown, (Coker)
Stem:
long, 1.5-6cm, some shade of dull tan or brown, strigose, fibrillose or hispid [bristly] nearly to the base of the branches, (Petersen), dark fuscous-brown or fuscous-vinaceous, with fuscous-ferruginous or concolorous, mostly upward-pointing, spicular or fastigiate fibrils, often spreading somewhat over the ground from the base of the stem, (Corner(2)), stiff red-brown hairs clothe the lower quarter to half of the fruitbody, (Coker)
Taste:
mild or slowly somewhat bitter (Corner(2))
Microscopic:
spores 9.6-10.4 x 8.8-9.6 microns (average 10.1 x 9.3 microns) for var. lignicola, 9.2-10.8 x 7.7-9.5 microns (average 9.8 x 8.5 microns) for var. castaneipes, round, nearly round, suboval, to pip-shaped, smooth, thick-walled, with 1 droplet, soon losing droplet in dried specimens; basidia 2-spored, rarely 1-spored, occasionally clamped at base, sterigmata 4-8 microns long, stout, cornute, becoming secondarily septate after spore discharge, the upper part evacuating and collapsing; hymenium when first fertile 30-60(90) microns thick, sometimes thickening when old to at least double the thickness, subhymenium composed of freely branching, usually unswollen cells, thin-walled, rarely with some clamp connections; medullary hyphae of the stem composed of long cells (20-150 x 4-10 microns), often slightly swollen (up to 20 microns), especially around the septa, causing septa to appear oblique, rarely highly swollen (up to 35 microns), colorless, "thin-walled, rather loosely arranged, often with regular patterns of curving or zig-zag throughout much of their length", sparsely branched, with no clamp connections; cortical hyphae "linear, composed of unswollen (rarely slightly swollen) long cells, with pale watery fuscous brown walls slightly thickened" (not more than 0.5 microns), "branching and anastomosing freely throughout their length"; hyphae "often passing from one tissue into another and back, assuming the characteristics of the surrounding cells"; hispid fascicles of hyphae in the stem "composed of the latter cell type, with some swollen cells in the center, depending on the size of the fascicle, these hyphae all unclamped", (Petersen)
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