Clavaria Vermicularis

Day 55: I have been haunting one particular corner of the woods since the first rains arrived in October, hoping to see the ghostly white fingers of Clavaria vermicularis poking up through the step-moss. It wasn't a long walk to the site by any means, so I'd check every week or so and had just about given up hope, thinking that perhaps they wouldn't occur after this year's dry summer. I stopped again yesterday, and there they were, all three of them with another broken one six feet off to one side. This species is fairly common in Pacific Northwest forests and is slightly larger than its cousin C. acuta. Vermicularis grows in groupings, as opposed to acuta's tendency to demonstrate isolated clubs. If you're wondering how a non-gilled fungus like Clavaria reproduces, these critters have basidiocarps (microscopic spore-producing structures) on their top third.

The Clavariadelphus Club

Day 23: Membership in the Clavariadelphus Club is very exclusive. First of all, you have to be a fungus, but not just any fungus can apply. Secondly, you have to be markedly club-shaped...it's a "clubs only" club, so to speak. Right there, that's fairly limiting, and only a few species are represented in the Pacific Northwest. Often difficult to tell apart, these fungi's true nature may require microscopic examination of the spores, and even that may be insufficient. In fact, the jury is still out on whether some species of Clavariadelphus should truly be categorized separately from another. That brings us to "lumpers" and "splitters," the two species of taxonomist currently accepted as different breeds. The "lumpers" (so named for their tendency to lump subspecies under a single heading) will tell you that Clavariadelphus sachalinensis (presumably shown here) and Clavariadelphus ligula should be considered one and the same. The "splitters" (those who prefer to separate by minute differences) will argue that they are two distinct species. However you may care to parse it, any Clavariadelphus is still a member of the Club.