''Calocera viscosa'' is a species of

fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the family Dacrymycetaceae. In the United Kingdom, it has the recommended English name of yellow stagshorn. In North America it is variously called coral jelly fungus, jelly staghorn, yellow false coral, yellow tuning fork, and jelly antler. The

basidiocarp In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do no ...

s (fruit bodies) are small, gelatinous, bright golden yellow, and branched. ''Calocera viscosa'' grows on logs and dead wood of

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

s. It is a common species throughout Europe and has also been recorded from North America, Asia, and Australia.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described as ''Clavaria aurea'' by the German naturalist and explorer

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

in 1793, but the name is

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

since it had already been used for a different species. The species was legitimately described as ''Clavaria viscosa'' from Germany in 1794 by South African-born mycologist

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (31 December 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a Cape Colony mycologist who is recognized as one of the founders of mycology, mycological Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. Early life Persoon was born in Cape Colony at ...

. It was transferred to the genus '' Calocera'' by Swedish mycologist

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. He is sometimes called the Mycology, "Linnaeus of Mycology". In his works he described and assigned botanical names to hundreds of fungus and li ...

in 1827. A white fungus from Italy was described as ''Calocera cavarae'' in 1896, but later studies suggested that this was only an aberrant form of ''C. viscosa'' lacking yellow pigments.

Description

''Calocera viscosa'' forms bright golden to orange-yellow (rarely white), firmly gelatinous fruit bodies up to tall, with a paler stem and coral-like branches. The fruit bodies are too slight to be of culinary interest.

Microscopic characters

Hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e lack

clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of basidiomycete fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rece ...

s. The

basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

are two-spored and typical of the Dacrymycetaceae. The

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s are weakly allantoid (sausage-shaped), 8 to 12.5 by 3.5 to 4.5

μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...

, thin-walled, becoming tardily once-septate.

Similar species

Similar species include ''

Calocera cornea ''Calocera cornea'' is a jelly fungus that grows on decaying wood. It is a member of the Dacrymycetales, an order of fungi characterized by their unique "tuning fork" basidia. Its yellow, finger-like, tapering basidiocarps are somewhat gelati ...

'' and '' C. furcata'', as well as '' Ramariopsis corcea'' and '' Clavulinopsis corniculata''.

Habitat and distribution

''Calocera viscosa'' is a

wood-decay fungus A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as ''Serpula lacrymans'', and some, such as '' Armillaria'' (honey fungus), are par ...

, found on logs and dead wood of

s. It was originally described from Germany and is common throughout Europe, but has also been recorded from North America, Asia, and Australia. It appears from October to March on the West Coast of North America, and July to September elsewhere on the continent.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q256970 Dacrymycetes Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Fungi described in 1794 Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Fungus species