British Clavariae. A. D. Cotton & E. M. Wakefield. 175 



Plants much branched, forming spherical tufts, 3-5 cm. high, 

 tough, deep dull ochraceous in colour, becoming greenish when 

 bruised; smell strong, taste bitter. Stan sliort, thick, whitish, 

 downy, with a slightly rooting base, becoming greenish. 

 Branches slender, 1-2 mm. thick, erect, repeatedly forked, 

 cylindrical or compressed, longitudinally wrinkled when dry, 

 apices pointed or bifid, axils acute. Flesh white. Internal 

 structure filamentous, hyphae loosely interwoven, 4-TO/x 

 (average 5-7 /z), slightly septate. Basidia small, 35-40 x 7-8 /x, 

 contents uniform, finely granular, sterigmata 4, erect. Spores 

 deep ochraceous in the mass, copious, finely rough, pip-shaped,, 

 7-10 X 3-5 /x (average 7-8 X 3-5 /t). 



Habitat. On the ground in fir woods. Fairly common. 



Easily distinguished from all other British species by becoming 

 green when bruised. It is allied to C. flaccida and C. Invalii, 

 and occurs in similar localities. The spores are larger than those 

 of C. flaccida, and more like those of C. Invalii. 



7. C. FLACCIDA Fr., Syst. Myc. i. p. 471. 



Clavariella flaccida Karst., Hattsv. ii. 1882, p. 186. 



Illustrations: Fries, Icon. Hymen, tab. 199, fig. 4; Karsten, 

 Finl. Basidsv. tab. 9, fig. 139; Pat., Tab. Anal. fig. 39. 



Plants branched, small, 3-4 cm. high, gregarious, rather 

 tough, but flaccid, bright ochraceous in colour, tips paler, 

 base whitish, does not turn green on bruising; smell and taste 

 slight, pleasant. Main stem very short, white, with white, 

 floccose mycelium. Branches very crowded, repeatedly forked, 

 erect, upper axils rounded, the pointed terminal branches 

 usually curving inwards towards each other, solid. Flesh 

 white. Internal structure composed of loosely interwoven, 

 slightly septate filaments, 7-10 /x in diameter, not parenchy- 

 matous in- transverse section and more densely arranged 

 towards the periphery. Basidia small, conspicuous, 30 x y-gfx, 

 contents finely granular; sterigmata 4. Spores not copious, 

 ochraceous, very finely punctate, pip-shaped, 6-8 x 3-5 ft 

 (av. 6-7 X 3^), sometimes with a hyaline basal tip. 



Habitat. Amongst moss and leaves in coniferous woods. 

 Not common. 



Specimens from Alresford, Hants. (C. Rea, 1904, and 

 W. L. W. Eyre, 1911); Midhurst (E. M. W., 1913); Lyndhurst 

 (A. D. C, 1916). Recorded at the Rothiemurchus (1900), 

 Exeter (1901), and Savernake Forest (1903) forays. 



Somewhat resembling C. abietina, but the w^hole fungus is 

 more flaccid, and does not turn green when bruised. Stem 

 sometimes up to 1-75 cm. long, at others almost obsolete. 

 Mycelium whitish, creeping over leaves, etc. 



7—2 



