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Species Information
Summary:
Not available
Fruiting body: 1-2.5cm high, often somewhat spathulate or laterally compressed toward the top, simple, lobed or primordially branched to somewhat lacerate; "pale yellowish to straw or pinkish shades, subtranslucent, at least toward the base"; "with a whitish apex, especially on drying", (Petersen), very pale yellow (Brodo)
Microscopic: spores 5.6-8.2 x 2.1-3.5 microns, narrowly ovoid to cylindric, or sometimes slightly curved, smooth, weakly laterally apiculate, without droplets; basidia 4-5-6-spored, "the sterigmata short, thin, and easily collapsed", nearly spherical when young, cylindric to subclavate when old; "hymenial thickening by branching and basidium production from basal basidial clamp connections"; subhymenial hyphae 1.5-3.5 microns wide, colorless, thin-walled, with clamp connections; context hyphae 3.5-15 microns wide, somewhat inflated, thin-walled to noticeably thick-walled, colorless, "loosely arranged and interwoven in the apical portion, but tightly packed and parallel toward the base", "bearing very small and inconspicuous clamp connections throughout", "walls almost dry to heavily gelatinizing", (Petersen), spores 5-8 x 2-3.5 microns (Brodo)
Spore Deposit: white (Petersen)
Habitat / Range
associated with algae on soil (Petersen), on sandy soil, usually with moss, especially road banks, (Brodo)
Similar Species
Multiclavula mucida grows on wood. Multiclavula vernalis is difficult to distinguish: the microscopic structure is almost identical, although the spores can reach 12 microns long in M. vernalis. The fruitbodies of M. corynoides "are rather hard and brittle when dry, usually somewhat translucent toward the base, at least when fresh", while those of M. vernalis "are stouter, fleshier, opaque throughout, and usually larger", (Brodo(1) who say that Multiclavula vernalis is known only from the East [of North America]). M. vernalis is differentiated in the key by the sterigmata numbering strictly four or rarely less, whereas M. corynoides commonly has more than 4 sterigmata. (Petersen(27)). The key sections in Petersen(27) are also differentiated by color but distinction between cream to fleshy cream or straw-orange drying dull ochraceous orange for M. vernalis, as opposed to pale yellowish to straw or pinkish shades for M. corynoides would not seem easy to make. McCune(2) separate them as follows: Multiclavula corynoides has spores 5.6-8.5 x 2.1-3.5 microns, 4-6 sterigmata, fruitbodies "simple or with a hint of branching", 1-2.5cm high, "pale yellowish to straw or with pinkish shades, almost translucent, at least near the base, the tip often whitish when dry", whereas Multiclavula vernalis has spores 8-12 x 2.5-3.5 microns, 4 sterigmata, fruitbodies simple, to 2(2.7)cm high, "cream to fleshy cream or straw orange when fresh, dull ochraceous orange when dry, the tip often with a small white spot". They also comment "Petersen [1967] separated M. corynoides from M. vernalis partly on the basis of the number of sterigmata. I find this a difficult character; at least partly because the sterigmata are often very small and easily collapsed. He also separated these by basidiocarp color, but the colors appear to overlap". (McCune(2), with Latin italicized.) Multiclavula corynoides (Peck) R.H. Petersen was thought by Corner to be only the better developed state of Multiclavula vernalis (Corner(3), discussing both as Clavulinopsis taxa). A further controversy involves Clavaria mucida var. rosea Bres. Corner(2) mentions a report from Oregon by Doty with spores 7-7.5 x 2-3 microns, commenting that Doty is the only recent author to report it growing on the ground, and that var. rosea is possibly a form of Clavulinopsis vernalis. Petersen(27) on the other hand reduces Clavaria mucida var. rosea Sacc. to a synonym of Multiclavula corynoides.
