E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Summary:
Ramaria rubella forma rubella has 1) dull violaceous rose (ruddy) fruitbodies with short or absent stem, 2) upper branches more brightly colored, tips with the last half millimeter white at first, 3) deep red-purple reaction of spore-bearing surface to KOH, 4) white rhizomorphs that turn light mauve pink in 10% KOH, 5) short spores with cyanophilic ornamentation of low scattered small warts to delicate ridges, and 6) rhizomorphic strands with generative hyphae and skeletalized generative hyphae.

Collections were examined from BC, WA, OR, ID, NB, NS, ON, PQ, CA, MA, MI, NC, NH, NY, TN, VT, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, and it is also reported from Japan, (Petersen).

Fruiting body:
up to 10cm high, stem single to multiple, branches "numerous, erect to somewhat lax, usually subparallel, generally forming a fusiform mature fruitbody but often of irregular height", lobed in lower part when sectioned, round to flattened upward, internodes usually gradually diminishing, axils rounded to narrowly rounded, tips delicate, acute, spore-bearing area amphigenous to often unilateral, "sterile areas usually as narrow lines decurrent from axils, minutely rugulose to wooly", not significantly different in color from spore-bearing surface, (Petersen), 0.5-7cm wide, 3-10cm high, small, sometimes broad, stem lacking, branching from substrate up to 8 times, some nodes trichotomous to polychotomous but most dichotomous, axils widely subacute to U-shaped, branches open, subparallel, or divaricate, internodes up to 2cm long, mostly 0.5-1cm long, branches somewhat flattened especially at nodes, slender, mostly 0.1-0.4cm wide, young terminal branches flabellate-cristate, single or bifid near tips when mature, tips acute, (Marr)

Flesh:
rubbery-coriaceous [rubbery-leathery] when fresh; paler than surface, (Marr)

Branch color:
dull reddish (ruddy to ruddy purplish) except tips white when young, (branches pale red when young, aging grayish red), (Scates-Barnhart), dull violaceous rose ("Japan rose", "onion skin pink", when young, "avellaneous", "buff pink", "light vinaceous cinnamon", "vinaceous cinnamon", when mature, fading to "fawn color", "pinkish cinnamon", "cinnamon" when old), bruising to "fawn color" or somewhat vinescent when handled, upper branches more brightly colored ("russet", "vinaceous russet"), tips abruptly (apical 0.05cm) white, colored as branches when old, (Petersen), basal branches of fresh fruitbodies white in tomentum covered areas, otherwise ''pale red'' to ''grayish orange'', most branches ''pale red'' in young fruitbodies or ''grayish red'' in older ones, tips white, slowly maturing concolorous, bruised areas slightly translucent but not markedly changing color, (Marr), violaceous pink-ocher, white at the tips, (Courtecuisse)

Stem:
"single to multiple, slender to stout, lobed in cross-section, often branched from base, arising from and often covered by a whitish mycelial felt" that spreads over the adjacent substrate up to 1cm in radius; whitish in lower part to "deep Quaker gray" or "hair brown" upward, when old "benzo brown" to "fuscous", "subtended by a network of delicate, occasional, whitish rhizomorphic strands which change to bright mauve pink in 10% KOH", (Petersen), colored similarly to branches except where covered by whitish cottony fuzz, (Scates-Barnhart), stem lacking, "conspicuous velvety tomentum spreading into a surface mycelial mat surrounding basal branches, white rhizomorphic strands prominent, some conspicuously long, elastic", (Marr)

Chemical Reactions:
spore-bearing surface deep red-purple in KOH, spore-bearing surface dark slate green in ferric sulphate in water, rhizomorphic strands change to bright mauve pink in 10% KOH, (Petersen), stem flesh inamyloid, (Marr)

Odor:
none or faintly of anise (Petersen), not distinctive to musty sweet, (Scates-Barnhart), not distinctive or faintly musty-sweet, (Marr)

Taste:
very slowly acrid [peppery] to strongly acrid (Petersen), mild to usually acrid (biting), (Scates-Barnhart), not distinctive, (Marr)

Microscopic:
spores 6.3-9.5 x 4.1-5.5 microns, average 7.5 x 4.29 microns, broadly cylindric to slightly ovoid, roughened in profile, strongly cyanophilic ornamentation of low, scattered, small warts to delicate ridges not covering significant wall areas, contents no droplets to several minute droplets, the droplets non-refringent and brownish under phase contrast, wall up to 0.3 microns thick, weakly cyanophilic, apiculus "prominent, eccentric, prolonged, not perpendicular", basidia 4-spored, 35-60 x 7-7.5 microns, clavate, clamped; hyphae of rhizomorphic strands of 2 types: 1) thin-walled generative hyphae, 2-5 microns wide, colorless, conspicuously clamped, and 2) skeletalized generative hyphae, 3-4 microns wide, thick-walled (wall often completely obscuring lumen), "arising from clamped septum of generative hypha and almost invariably ending in the same manner (although rarely ending blindly)", acyanophilic, colorless, inflated clamp connections abundant, up to 35 microns wide, somewhat thick-walled (wall up to 1 micron thick), not ornamented; hyphae of upper branch trama 2.2-7.5 microns wide, colorless, thick-walled to extremely thick-walled (wall obscuring lumen), long-celled, with conspicuous clamp connections, subparallel, commonly anastomosing, acyanophilic, inflated clamp connections not observed, (Petersen), spores 5.5-8 x 4-5.5 microns, average 6.4 x 4.6 microns, elliptic, ornamented with numerous small but distinct papillate cyanophilic warts, prominent lateral apiculus present, (Marr)

Spore Deposit:
golden yellow'' (Marr)