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Species Information
Summary: Features of Ramaria flavobrunnescens var. aromatica include medium size, single stem, clear yellow branches, becoming brownish yellow when old, the tips a deeper yellow when young, branches appearing stiff and somewhat tufted at the nodes, fleshy-fibrous cartilaginous consistency when fresh, usually a pronounced sweetish odor, spores with small obscure warts, and clamp connections. Ramaria flavobrunnescens var. aromatica differs from R. flavobrunnescens var. flavobrunnescens (infrequent in eastern North America) in having larger spores, fragrant odor, and subcartilaginous consistency. The type variety, incidentally, has branch color suffused with fleshy tints in juvenile and adolescent specimens, (Petersen(12)). Var. aromatica is common in the Pacific Northwest (Scates-Barnhart).
Var. aromatica has been found at least in WA (Marr). There is a collection from BC at the Pacific Forestry Centre, and there are collections from WA, OR, and CA (variety unspecified) at Oregon State University.
Fruiting body: 3-18cm wide, 4.5-18cm high, frequently fan-shaped in outline, stem usually single, branching up to 6 times from the stem, branches straight, diverging slightly from polychotomous to dichotomous nodes, axils acute to subacute, internodes lengthening up to 3.5cm, lower branches up to 1.5cm wide, upper branches usually thick, 0.2-0.8cm wide, polydigitate to polynodulose near tips, tips subacute to blunt, (Marr), upper branches +/- thick, (Scates-Barnhart)
Flesh: fleshy-fibrous, cartilaginous when fresh; white, (Marr), "seems always to show a yellow-brown diffuse patch of flesh at the stipe base", (Petersen(3))
Branch color: light yellow'' with deeper yellow tips when young, but when old, tips colored as branches and all areas becoming brownish yellow, (Marr), "tips white when very young, then tips and branches light to bright yellow during growing stages, aging brownish yellow", (Scates-Barnhart)
Stem: 0.5-4.5(7)cm x 0.5-4(8)cm, usually single, cylindric to broadly conic, short abortive or primordial branches at base; buried part of fresh fruiting body white to ''pale yellow'', (Marr), 1-6cm x 1-7cm, tapering or equal, (Scates-Barnhart)
Chemical Reactions: stem flesh inamyloid (Marr), ferric sulphate in water negative on stem flesh (Exeter)
Odor: sweet, slightly resembling gardenia, curry, or sweet pastries, (Marr)
Taste: not distinctive (Marr)
Microscopic: spores 9-12 x 3-5 microns, average 10.4 x 4.0 microns, subcylindric, with small obscure warts; basidia 1-4-spored (mostly 4-spored), 40-85 x 7-10 microns, clavate, clamped; clamp connections present, (Marr)
Spore Deposit: 'apricot yellow''
Habitat / Range
terrestrial under Tsuga heterophylla (Western Hemlock), well represented in the fall flora of western Washington and may occur in the spring in less abundance, (Marr)
Similar Species
Ramaria coulterae usually shows a brown patch in the base of the stem, but it fruits in spring and hyphae do not have clamp connections, (Petersen(3)). Ramaria rasilispora has spores that are entirely smooth to obscurely (finely) warted, (Marr). Ramaria cystidiophora has acantho-dendroid gloeoplerous hyphae in the stem, (Marr). Ramaria flavigelatinosa lacks clamp connections, (Marr). See also SIMILAR section of Ramaria cystidiophora var. citronella, Ramaria flavigelatinosa var. fragrans, Ramaria rasilispora var. rasilispora, and Ramaria rubricarnata var. rubricarnata.
Marr(1) (colors in single quotation marks from Kornerup(2)), Scates-Barnhart(1), Petersen(12), Petersen(3) (in the discussion of Ramaria coulterae), Exeter(3)* References for the fungi
