Pipe club / Autumn / Inedible

Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Vasyliuk Oleksij, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Scientific Name

Typhula fistulosa, synonyms Clavaria fistulosa

Common Names

Pipe club

Family

Typhulaceae

A type of Clavaroid fungi, which is one of the most basic forms of fungi fruit body and has arisen numerous times through fungi evolution.

Habitat

Saprophytic, growing in broad-leaf woodlands and woodland edges, particularly with birch. Sometimes growing off dead wood but more commonly seen growing off leaf litter. Can be easily overlooked being mistaken for twigs or stems.

Description

Very peculiar fungi, resembling worms suspended out the ground, Uncommon in Britain and Ireland, but can be seen from June to November.

Identifying Features

Fruit body

Colour- Mainly ochra with light to mid brown at the base and dark still where it attaches with root like structures. Sometimes more orange tones towards the tip.

Shape- An unbranching tubular shape, becoming slightly wider towards the tip, often flattened on one side sometimes with a twist. Soft longitudinal grooves. Growing upwards either straight or more often with a wave between 5-30cm tall and 5-10mm wide. Typically fruits in multiples.

Pores/gills

The spores are released from the smooth surface of the tips on the fruit body. No visible pore or gills

Smell

No distinctive

Spores

White

Uses

There are no recorded uses for this fungi.

Known hazards

None known

Potential lookalikes

Other types of non branching club fungi such as Golden Spindles (Clavulinopsis fusiformis) but this grows in denser clumps and is yellow in colour.

Extra Notes

The generic name Typhula comes from Latin and means slightly smokey. Much more obvious, and again from Latin, is the specific epithet fistulosa, which simply means shaped like a pipe or a tube.