Ramaria rasilispora

This year the higher elevations sported a slew of Ramaria rasilispora, our high country yellow coral. Kit Scates' key indicates only 2 other Ramarias which are commonly found under Douglas fir, and I can find no mention of any other Ramaria that is found under lodgepole pine. Scates also mentions 2 subspecies, one is distinguished as being above 2500 feet, the other present with true firs. In western Montana and Idaho, I often find these big yellow fungi in stands of pure lodgepole pine, and lodgepole mixed with subalpine fir.

They often erupt from the soil next to stones, through rotten logs, and beside stumps, sometimes in a row or loose arc, and sometimes solitary. I am in the habit of eating those that are found in clumps, so long as I can leave a few, but usually avoid picking those that grow alone. Some people are affected by these mushrooms. One in ten, it is claimed, experience a laxative effect, although those who eat it with me have never experienced this. Since I limit myself to corals growing in high elevation conifer stands with the above characteristics, perhaps this indicates that this particular mushroom does not have this effect.

I am impressed by the fact that these fleshy fungi maintain their freshness for a month or more if left alone. They are fairly slow-growing, and if water is scarce, will fail to get large. I have picked a coral from a "string" of these fungi, then returned to the same spot at 10 day, 20 day, and 30 day intervals to find that the remaining mushrooms change somewhat in shape and color, with the "fingers" getting longer, the base smaller, and the color shifting from more yellow to more tan. While sometimes these old timers get a bellyful of maggots, it is not uncommon to find one looking fairly pert and edible a month after it broke ground. I won't eat these of course, but someone who didn't know the fungus' past might, and the result could be a bellyache or diarrhea.

Although various authors describe between 40 and 60 members of this genus, I usually only encounter half a dozen very often. These are R.magnipes, very much like R. rasilispora, R. stricta, which is what most our corals key out to when they are aged, R. aurantiisiccescens, R.longispora,(these fungi found in coastal-like habitat in far western MT); R. formosa,with pinkish branches, noted for gastrointestinal upset, R. botrytis, which has quite red branch tips when young, R. flavobrunnescens, and some smaller corals, such as Clavulina cristata, a small white coral; Clavicorona pyxidata, found on rotting hardwoods in the summer; Clavaria purpurea, the common purple fairy fingers, and a couple odd Clavulinopsis, which are very small and yellow.

This fungus has been found on the Kootenai National Forest.