About this fungus
Golden Spindles is a fungus in the Clavariaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A dense tuft of slender golden-yellow clubs rising from a shared, fused base among grass, moss or woodland litter.
What to check
Look for several smooth, unbranched or only rarely divided clubs packed closely together. Each club is spindle-shaped, often narrowed at both ends, and older tips may turn brown. There are no gills, pores, ring or volva. Microscopy may be needed to separate less typical collections from other yellow clubs.
Variation
Fresh clubs can be bright lemon-yellow to golden yellow. They become duller with age, while the tips may dry and darken to orange-brown or brown.
Lookalikes
Clavulinopsis laeticolor and Clavulinopsis helvola are commonly scattered or loosely grouped rather than joined in a dense fascicle. Other small yellow clubs can be very similar, so an atypical or sparsely clustered find should not be named from colour alone.
Habitat and range
Found on soil among moss or grass in old, low-nutrient grassland and in woodland or clearings. The nutritional biology of grassland club fungi is not securely resolved, so the record does not assume a simple saprotrophic lifestyle.
Food safety
Inedible.
Species to compare
Similar mushrooms to compare against: