THE IDENTITY OF CANTHARELLUS BREVIPES 
AND CANTHARELLUS CLAVATUS 
Edward T. Harper 
(With Plates 93, 94 and 95) 
The plants illustrated in plates 93 and 94, accompanying this 
article, are frequently met with at Neebish, Michigan. They 
grow on the ground in damp mossy places or among needles in 
’ coniferous woods. We referred them at first to Cantharellus 
brcvipes Peck, but the illustration of Craterelliis clavatus by 
Fries^ suggested that Peck’s species is the same as Craterelliis or 
better Cantharellus clavatus of Europe, and further study of 
other illustrations and descriptions of that species appears to 
prove the identity beyond doubt. Cantharellus clavatus has been 
figured many times in European works on mycology. One of the 
latest illustrations is that in Rolland’s Atlas Champignons (pi. 
52). The plant is really a Cantharellus and has been so called by 
Corda, Bresadola and others. The description in Saccardo’s* Syl- 
loge fits our plant except that the hymenium becomes pale ochra- 
ceous pruinate rather than “ whitish pruinate from the spores,” 
which is necessarily the case since the spores are ochraceous. In 
dried specimens the spore pruina appears whitish over the dark 
background of the hymenium unless special attention is paid to the 
color. The pruinate surface is very noticeable. The spore meas- 
urements, 4-5 X 10-12 /j,, agree with those of our plants exactly 
and also with those of Cantharellus brevipes. 
Cantharellus clavatus has been reported from IMaine by 
Sprague, according to Saccardo ( 1 . c.) and Lloyd® has recog- 
nized it among plants sent to him from Montana, but he thought 
the spores of the Montana plant appeared hyaline under the micro- 
scope. The spores'in our plants are pale-ochraceous. 
1 Fries, Sverige Svamp. pi. gi. 1836. 
2 Saccardo, Syll. Fung. 6: 519. 1888. 
3 Lloyd, letter 44, note 56. 
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