Clavarias of the United States and Canada 43 



New York: Vaughns. Burnham, No. 44. Beside a buried maple stick, 

 woods. July 25, 1916. (U. N. C. Herb.). 



Colorado: Clements. (N. Y. Bot. Gard. Herb.). 



Clavaria nigrita Pers. Comm., p. 79 (211). 1797. 



Plates 1 and 82 



Single or cespitose in small groups (usually 1-7), the stems 

 not fused above ground, but scarcely touching or nearly touching 

 at base, about 2-7 cm. high and 1-2.5 mm. thick, simple and almost 

 cylindrical or tapering towards the top, with the tips bluntly 

 pointed or not rarely the tip knobbed or a little flattened-expanded 

 or (rarely) with one or two short, antler-like prongs near the end, 

 and sometimes flattened and contorted like a rain's horn through- 

 out, the base slightly contracted into a short stalk which is con- 

 colorous and not sharply defined above (the hymenium descend- 

 ing unevenly), but which is made conspicuous below by a white, 

 scurfy tomentum which usually covers about half of the stem and 

 fades upward into a mere pruinosity ; except when young and still 

 growing the surface is closely and conspicuously rugose-wrinkled 

 from the tip to the base or near it ; color when quite young about 

 Saccardo's umber, then darkening to a deep dusky sepia with the 

 tips soon blackening, the base white with tomentum; flesh soft 

 and elastic, usually breaking only in part even when bent on itself, 

 colored like the surface and translucent-watery when quite fresh 

 and damp, becoming lighter and more fibrous-looking later ; odor- 

 less and quite tasteless, made up of closely packed hyphae about 

 6.3-9A\j. thick, their cells much longer than thick. 



Spores ovate-elliptic, an eccentric mucro on the larger end, 

 smooth, white, 2.7-3.2 x 5.5-6.3[/.. Basidia 4-spored, about 9[u 

 broad at end, sterigmata about 7[a long. 



Growing in mossy shaded lawns in wet weather in summer. 



This remarkable species was found associated with C. helve ola, 

 C. fragilis, Hygrophorus Peckianus, H. conicus, H. chlorophanons, 

 etc. It is quickly distinguished from any other Clavaria by its 

 dark color, elastic texture and close, longitudinal wrinkles. It is 

 very hard to find, being almost invisible against the earth and 

 humus. When dried it becomes quite black, the tomentum of 

 the base becoming tawny. 



