branches that they are bush-like in form. In color they vary 
from white to yellow, ochraceous, tan color, red or purple, but 
no black species are known, although similarly shaped species of 
a black color belong to some other families of fungi. Several 
species of this genus are recorded as edible, and no species is 
known to be dangerously harmful, yet many are too small or too 
insipid or disagreeable to be of value as food. Three species will 
here be described : 
Plant simple, club-shaped, C. pistillaris. 
Plant branched, bush-shaped, 1. 
1. Tips of the branches red, C. botrytes. 
1. Tips of the branches yellow, C. flava. 
The Pistil clavaria or Large Club, Clavaria pistillaris, is the 
largest of our unbranched species. It is commonly three to five 
inches high, and one-half to two-thirds of an inch thick at the 
top, where it is rounded or very blunt. It gradually tapers down- 
ward to the base. Its surface is smooth, and its color yellowish 
or ochraceous, sometimes with a reddish tint. The flesh is soft 
and white. Sometimes irregular or very short, thick forms oc- 
cur, and in Europe it is said to reach the height of twelve inches, 
But I have seen no American plants so tall. It grows in grassy, 
open places, or in thin woods and groves, in wet weather in sum- 
mer. I have not eaten it, and introduce it on the recommenda- 
tion of others, and as a representative of the simple forms of the 
genus. 
The Red-tipped clavaria Clavaria botrytes, has a very short, 
thick, fleshy white stem, which suddenly divides aboveinto a very 
dense or compact mass of erect or ascending branches, the tips of 
which are of a red color, at least while young and fresh. This is 
a good mark by whichto recognize this species. Thebranches are 
elsewhere whitish or pale yellow, and when old, even the tips fade 
and lose their primary color. The plants are commonly three to 
five inches high, and two to four inches broad, the stem being 
about an inch thick. It grows in thin woods and in open places, 
in wet or showery weather, from July to September. 
Mycologists agree in ascribing to this fungus delicious qualities 
and an agreeable flavor. Unfortunately, it is not common with 
us. 
The Pale yellow clavaria, Clavaria flava, is very similar to the 
Red-tipped clavaria, but is at once distinguished by its having 
yellow-tipped branches. Its stem is short and thick, and is ab- 
ruptly dissolved above into a dense mass of nearly parallel erect 
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