_Clavaria_
[Sidenote: =A neglected feast=]
What frequenter of the summer and autumn woods has failed to observe
that occasional dense cluster of creamy-colored, coral-like growth such
as I have indicated at Plate 30, and who has thought to gather up its
fragile, succulent mass with designs on the cook? I have seen clusters
of this fungus so dense and ample as to strikingly suggest a huge
cauliflower, and representing many pounds in weight. But in the absence
of popular appreciation it must needs decay by "whole hundred-weights"
in the woods.
This is the Clavaria, or coral fungus--more literally translated,
though less appropriate to this particular species, "club fungus"--a
representative of a genus containing many edible species.
The one presented in the Plate is _Clavaria formosa_, or the elegant
Clavaria. It grows from four to six inches in height, is deep creamy
yellow or pale orange buff in color, and slightly reddish at tips
of branches. It has a sweet taste, a fragile, brittle consistency,
and white substance; its spores are pale-ochre colored. Curtis gives
thirteen edible native species. Among them are the following, which
hardly call for severe technical description, as the entire group are
doubtless edible:
[Illustration: THE WHITE CORAL FUNGUS]
[Sidenote: =Clavaria coralloides=]
The _true_ "coral fungus"--_Clavaria coralloides_--of our woods
resembles _C. formosa_ in general shape, but its color is _white_, or
perhaps pale gray. Its thick stem is hollow, and its uneven, crowded
branches are brittle and flesh-white. Its odor is like that of the
_Agaricus campestris_, and it possesses a sweet, pleasant flavor.
Cordier recommends it as eatable even when raw. This species is in
great favor in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, where it is desiccated
for winter use.
[Illustration: _Clavaria formosa_]
_PLATE XXX_