No. 3.] HYMENIALES OF CONNECTICUT. 73 



CLAVARIACE^. Coral Fungi. 



This is a family very unlike most families of mushrooms. 

 There is no distinct cap ; but, true to their name, the plants re- 

 semble coral formations. The substance of the plants is simi- 

 lar throughout, and the spores are borne over their entire 

 upper surface. They are upright growers, and are frequently 

 variously branched, but may be simple and club-shaped. They 

 have striking characters not easily mistaken. The majority 

 of the species are edible, though some are tough and leathery. 



The plants are very common and occur abundantly 

 throughout the season. They grow mostly in soil or in de- 

 caying leaves, but some few species grow on decaying wood. 

 They are distinguished from the coral forms of Hydnaceae by 

 their upright habit of growth, the tips of the branches' point- 

 ing away from the earth, while in Hydnaceae the spines point 

 downward. Some of the branched forms resemble certain 

 species of Thelephoracese, but in Thelephoraceas the tips of the 

 branches are more or less flattened or blunt and bear no fruit- 

 ing-bodies, while in Clavariaceje the tips of the branches are 

 acute and fertile. 



The fruiting cells are not unlike those of Agaricaceae and 

 other Hymeniales. Over the entire surface of the fruit-body, 

 the club-shaped basidia may be found by microscopical exami- 

 nation, and from these cells sterigmata arise, each bearing at 

 its tip the basidiospore, or reproductive body. 



Saccardo lists nine genera in this family, but only two are 

 reported from Connecticut. 



Key for the analysis of Connecticut Genera of Clavariacccc. 



Plants fleshy, simple or branched Clavaria 



Plants leathery, branched, tomentose Lachnocladinni 



CLAVARIA Vaill. 



Clava, a club. 



The plants in this genus are more or less fleshy in con- 

 sistency. They may be variously branched, but in many spe- 

 cies they are simple and club-shaped. The branches are typi- 

 cally round, and are acute at the tips. The species are diffi- 



