Species details
Smoky spindles
Clavaria fumosa
Inedible
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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.
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
Ecology
- Substrate
- Grassland
- Notes
- Grows from soil among grass and moss in open woodland, old meadows and woodland edges from summer to autumn; rare.
How to separate similar species
Clavaria fragilis is entirely white. Different club fungi can look similar, and atypical specimens require additional identification.
Similar species
- White spindles (Clavaria fragilis)
- Clavaria species
- Clavulinopsis species