Wrinkled Club Fungus

Clavulina rugosa

Wrinkled Club FungusJerzy Opioła / CC BY-SA 4.0

About this fungus

Wrinkled Club Fungus is a fungus in the Clavulinaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.

A white to cream woodland club fungus, usually simple or only sparsely forked, with an uneven wrinkled surface and blunt tips.

What to check

Check the longitudinally wrinkled surface, minimal branching and blunt compressed tips. It grows from soil or moss and has no cap, gills, ring or volva.

Variation

Fruitbodies range from white to cream or pale grey and may be single, clustered or irregularly forked. Form varies enough that microscopy may be needed for atypical collections.

Lookalikes

Grey Coral is more densely branched and usually grey. Crested Coral has more divided, crested branch tips. Other pale clubs can overlap and should be compared with regional keys.

Habitat and range

Mycorrhizal on woodland soil, often among moss beside paths, with both broadleaf and conifer trees across northern temperate regions.

Food safety

Edible.

Never munch on a hunch
Use this profile to learn what to examine and compare, not as proof that a mushroom is safe to eat. Check the whole specimen and every important lookalike before reaching an identification.

Further reading

Wikipedia · First Nature · MushroomExpert.com

A glimpse of the research.

Weather response

Weather added a strong, repeatable signal beyond the usual seasonal pattern in this study.

Higher or lower ground?

Records tended to come from higher ground relative to other fungal records in the study.

These are patterns in recorded observations, not rules, forecasts or identification evidence. Local conditions and recording patterns can affect the findings.

Read six species examples →