Clavaria fragilis Holmsk.

Furtado, Ariadne N. M., Daniëls, Pablo P. & Neves, Maria Alice, 2016, New species and new records of Clavariaceae (Agaricales) from Brazil, Phytotaxa 253 (1), pp. 1-26 : 5-6

Clavaria fragilis Holmsk. in Fries (1821: 484)

Basidiomata ( Fig. 1b ) 1.0−5.0 × 0.3−0.5 cm, unbranched, gregarious, in small fascicules of 3−4 or solitary. Clavula whitish (1A1), cylindric, becoming flattened and sulcate, often flexuous; apex acute to obtuse, concolorous with clavula; stipe short 2.5–3.5 x 1–2 mm, slightly narrow, translucent. Context white (1A5), first solid then hollow, very brittle; taste and smell absent.

Basidiospores ( Fig. 3a ) 4.5−5.5 × 2.0−3.5 μm (Q=1.57), ellipsoid, hyaline, smooth, thin-walled, uniguttulate, inamyloid; hilar appendage up to 1.0 μm long. Basidia ( Fig. 3b ) 31−39 × 6.0−8.0 μm, clavate, clampless; 4-sterigmate 4.0−5.0 μm long. Cystidia absent. Hymenium ca. 38 μm thick, absent in stipe. Subhymenium up to 30 μm thick; hyphae 1.5−4.0 μm wide, loosely interwoven, clampless. Context with parallel hyphae 17−25 μm wide, clampless; hyphae shorter next to subhymenium, secondarily septate, constricted at primary septa, thin-walled, compact.

Habitat and distribution:—In the Atlantic Forest, this species is found on soil with moss. In Brazil it is known from the states of Paraná ( De Meijer 2006), Rio Grande do Sul ( Corner 1967b as Clavaria vermicularis Sw. ) and Santa Catarina (present study). Also known from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Bonin Islands, Ceylon, China, Costa Rica, USA ( Corner 1950, 1967b), India ( Thind 1961), Java, Japan ( Corner 1970), Switzerland ( Breitenbach & Kränzlin 1986), Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden ( Hansen & Knudsen 1997), Estonia ( Shiryaev 2009), Spain (Olariaga 2009), Morocco, Pakistan, Russia and South Africa ( Outcoumit et al. 2014),

Specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: São Francisco de Paula, Floresta Nacional de São Francisco de Paula (FLONA), 29º22'58.5"S, 50º22'32"W, 12 April 2014, A.C. Magnago 1041 (FLOR 56150).

Additional specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: no location, n.d., J.E. Rick n.n. (BPI 294648). Paraná: São José dos Pinhais, Roça Velha, 05 February 2001, A.A.R. De Meijer 3964 (MBM). USA. Ohio: Cincinnati, 03 November 1920, C.G. Lloyd n.n. (BPI 332898), ibid., 05 September 1920, C.G. Lloyd n.n. (BPI 332897).

Remarks:—This species is widespread, edible and the type of the genus ( Corner 1950). Clavaria fragilis is easily recognized by its white and brittle basidiomata ( Burt 1922). Based on Corner’s classification (1950), our specimen (A.C. Magnago 1041) is similar to Ca. fragilis var. gracilis because of the habit and the slightly smaller basidiospores (5.0−7.0 × 3.0−4.0 μm in Ca. fragilis ), which also agrees with the specimens described by Burt from the USA ( Burt 1922). The North American specimens described by Coker (1923) are taller than those from other localities. This common species could be mistaken for a less stout Clavaria fumosa Pers. , which has wider basidiospores (5.0−7.0 × 4.0−5.0 μm) and a fuliginous basidioma ( Corner 1967b). A close morphological species is Clavaria pampeana Speg. , but it has smaller basidiomata (7−28 × 0.5−1.0 mm) subglobose and larger basidiospores (7.0−10 × 6.0−8.0 μm) and clamped basidia with sterigmata about 6.0−8.5 μm long ( Singer 1969).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Photographs of basidiomata in the field. a Clavaria diverticulata (ACM 1044); b. Ca. fragilis (ACM 1041); c. Ca. fumosa (ACM 598); d. Ca. gibbsiae (ANMF 484); e. Ca. subglobosa (MAN 732); f. Ca. zollingeri (ANMF 365); g. Clavulinopsis amoena (KEL 21); h. Cs. aurantiocinnabarina (ANMF 382); i. Cs. dimorphica (ACM 1051); j. Cs. helvola (KEL 34); k. Cs. imperata (ANMF 482); l. Cs. laeticolor (ANMF 495); m. Cs. spiralis (MAN 1077); n. Ramariopsis kunzei (ACM 596). Bars = 1.0 cm. Photographs by Altielys C. Magnago (A, B, C, I, N) and Raquel Friedrich (G).

FIGURE 3. Microcharacters of Clavaria fragilis (ACM 1041). a. Basidia; b. Basidiospores. Bars = 10 μm.