This beautiful coral fungus reminds me of a fancy candelabra, which is one of it’s common names. Of course, it really looks like coral, and it’s so amazing to me in nature to see these patterns, shapes and structures repeated both on land and under the sea. It makes sense, but it still fills me with wonder all the same.
When I first saw a coral fungus many years back, I really had no idea something like that existed on land!
Alternate Names: Crown Coral, Candelabra coral Size: 4-13 cm high; 2-10 cm wide; repeatedly branched Family: Auriscalpiaceae Habitat: Growing alone or gregariously on the dead wood of hardwoods (especially the wood of aspens, tulip trees, willows, and maples. Identifiers: When young color is whitish to yellowish or semi-tan; and its branch tips are distinctively "crowned," featuring a tiny cuplike depression surrounded by 3-6 points. Fruiting spring, summer, and fall.
