CROWN TIPPED CORAL FUNGUS

CROWN TIPPED CORAL FUNGUS

Clavicorona pyxidata
CORAL FUNGUS FAMILY (Clavariaceae)

Click on each photo thumbnail to enlarge.

This showy coral grows in clusters up to 5 inches tall. Each branch is tipped by 3-6 crown-like points. These images were shot in sequence. At first this coral fungus is pure white (A). A day later it starts to turn a soft pink (B). Five days later, it has darkened some more and the tips have turned orange (C).

This fairly common coral grows on fallen hardwood logs from May to September. In Fontenelle Forest it is common on larger fallen logs on the floodplain and in moist ravines.

Note how the bent branch in front has recovered to a vertical position during those six days. This is by far the most common coral fungi in Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods. It is one of the few corals to grow directly on wood.

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