Summary:
Ramaria gelatinosa var. oregonensis is the most gelatinous Ramaria reported from the Pacific Northwest. The base flesh shows translucent often gelatinous pockets or streaks when the base is cut lengthwise. Numerous branch systems emerge from a wrinkled compound basal mass that is colored white, light yellow, or light orange or combinations of these. The branches are mostly erect and nearly parallel, colored orange to orange-brown sometimes aging grayish violet. The tips are the same color as the branches or paler. Microscopic characters include spores coarsely ornamented with lobed cyanophilic warts, collapsing basidia with cyanophilic granules, and gelatinized hyphae in the stem (with crystalloid clusters) and to a lesser extent in the branches.

Chemical Reactions:
stem flesh inamyloid (Marr), ferric sulphate in water negative with stem flesh (Exeter)

Odor:
musty sweet (Marr), unpleasant (Miller)

Taste:
not distinctive (Marr), often bitter (Arora), mild (Scates-Barnhart, Miller)

Microscopic:
spores 7-10 x 4.5-6 microns, average 8.9 x 5.1 microns, broadly ovoid to broadly cylindric, coarsely ornamented with lobed, cyanophilic warts, with prominent lateral apiculus up to 2 x 2 microns; basidia mostly 4-spored, sometimes 2-spored, 43-65 x 5.5-11 microns, clavate, collapsing soon after spore release, cyanophilic granules especially abundant in collapsed basidia, basally clamped, sterigmata 5-7 microns; hymenium and subhymenium combined 80-100 microns thick; subhymenial hyphae 2-4 microns wide, interwoven, thin-walled; contextual hyphae of the stem "almost completely gelatinized, very little structure distinguishable, crystalloid clusters prominent in the gelatinous mass, hyphae of the branches less gelatinized, structural details best defined nearest the branch surface, parallel to subparallel", cells non-inflated or slightly so, 4-11 microns wide, walls smooth, often poorly delimited, those not highly gelatinized mostly thin-walled, faintly cyanophilic, cells of the branches frequently vesicular near septa, 9-16 microns wide, walls of the swellings smooth to moderately ornamented; clamp connections present, sometimes of the keyhole type; gloeoplerous hyphae rare, mostly 3-3.5 microns wide, (Marr)

Spore Deposit:
golden yellow'' (Marr), golden yellow (Phillips), light buff to orange-buff (Miller)

Notes:
It is found in WA and OR, (Marr). It is common in the fall in the Pacific Northwest and northern CA, (Arora). There are collections also for ID and AK at the University of Washington and there are collections from BC at the University of British Columbia.

EDIBILITY

poisonous to some people (causing diarrhea and digestive upset), (Arora)

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Hypomyces purpureus Heinr.-Norm.