Species details
Smoky spindles
Clavaria fumosa
Inedible
Photo: Brian Hunt · CC BY 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A clustered smoky-grey club fungus with several brittle upright fruitbodies arising from a common base.
Identification features
Fruitbodies about 2–14 cm tall and 2–5 mm thick, greyish to dirty-white or pale pink, mostly unbranched and brittle. Tips may become dark reddish-brown to black with age.
Identification checklist
Check the smoky-grey colour, several unbranched clubs from a common base and characteristic brittleness.
How to separate similar species
Clavaria fragilis is entirely white. Different club fungi can look similar, and atypical specimens require additional identification.
Habitat
Grows from soil among grass and moss in open woodland, old meadows and woodland edges from summer to autumn; rare.
Fruiting period
June, July, August, September, October, November
Similar species
- White spindles (Clavaria fragilis)
- Clavaria species
- Clavulinopsis species