About this fungus
Small Stagshorn is a fungus in the Dacrymycetaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
Tiny yellow to orange gelatinous clubs crowd across damp, decaying broadleaf wood. Most are simple pointed horns, although a few may fork near the tip.
What to check
Confirm direct growth from dead wood, fruit bodies usually only a few millimetres to about 1. 5cm tall, and a flexible jelly-like rather than brittle or fleshy body. The clubs are mostly unbranched, narrow and pointed, with no separate cap, gills or pores.
Variation
Fresh wet fruit bodies are bright yellow and translucent. They may become deeper orange, tougher and slightly shrivelled as they dry. Crowded groups can contain both straight and curved clubs, with occasional simple forks.
Lookalikes
Calocera viscosa is much larger, repeatedly branched and mainly associated with conifer wood. Calocera pallidospathulata is paler and more spatula-shaped. Small coral fungi can share the outline but are not gelatinous and usually grow from soil or litter rather than directly from wood.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic on damp, well-decayed trunks, stumps and fallen branches of broadleaf trees, with occasional records from conifer wood. It is widespread in temperate regions.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
Jason Hollinger / CC BY 2.0
J. Marqua / CC BY-SA 3.0Species to compare
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