Alloclavaria purpurea is a coral fungus commonly known as the purple coral, or the purple fairy club. Formerly known as Clavaria purpurea, it has been moved to its own genus as a result of phylogenetic analysis.[1]

Alloclavaria purpurea
Scientific classification
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Genus:
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A. purpurea
Binomial name
Alloclavaria purpurea
(Fr.) Dentinger & D.J.McLaughlin (2007)
Synonyms
  • Clavaria purpurea Fr. (1821)
Alloclavaria purpurea
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Smooth hymenium
No distinct cap
Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
Stipe is bare
Spore print is white
Ecology is saprotrophic
Edibility is edible

Description

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The fruiting body of Alloclavaria purpurea is made of numerous slender cylindrical spindles that may grow to a height of 12 centimetres (4+34 in), with individual spindles being 2–6 millimeters thick. The color is purple or lavender, although the color fades to tan in older specimens.[2] A white mycelium is present at the base.[3] The spore print is white.[3]

Similar species include Clavaria fumosa and C. zollingeri.[3]

Distribution and habitat

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Fruit bodies are found in spruce-fir forests.[4] It can be found from October to December on the West Coast of North America, and July–October further inland.[3]

Uses

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It is reportedly edible[5] but insubstantial.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Dentinger BT, McLaughlin DJ. (2006). "Reconstructing the Clavariaceae using nuclear large subunit rDNA sequences and a new genus segregated from Clavaria". Mycologia. 98 (5): 746–62. doi:10.3852/mycologia.98.5.746. PMID 17256578.
  2. ^ Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5.
  3. ^ a b c d Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-593-31998-7.
  4. ^ "www.for.gov.bc.ca" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  5. ^ Phillips, Roger (2005). Mushrooms & other fungi of North America. Buffalo: Firefly Books. ISBN 978-1-55407-115-9. OCLC 60318881.
  6. ^ Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 341. ISBN 978-0-7627-3109-1.
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