Pipe Club Fungi ?

cajtep · #1 (**permalink**) 23-11-2009, 05:42 PM

Hi can anyone help identification of attached fungi photo.I suspect its Macrotyphula fistulosa. I found it by a mixed (decidous / conifer) woodland path, only reason for questioning species is the physical size as this was approx. 23cm overall height and the cap dia. approx 7mm which seems larger than most of the book descriptions.

fairplay · #2 (**permalink**) 23-11-2009, 06:40 PM

Welcome to the WAB fungi forum Cajtep.

You are correct with M.fistulosa, which can grow to 25cm, so you are within spec'.
Did another club come along and whack yours in the guts ?

Neil.

cajtep · #3 (**permalink**) 24-11-2009, 10:25 AM

Thanks for confirmation Neil, was a shame to find it whacked like that, it would have been nice to have seen it erect and proud (I'm sure i've heard that phrase before)

fairplay · #4 (**permalink**) 24-11-2009, 11:29 AM

I'm sure it was a week or so ago, we are coming to the end of the main flush now.

Neil.

Alantb · #5 (**permalink**) 25-11-2009, 07:51 PM

Sorry to spoil the party but I think that this is far too fat at the apex for Macrotyphula fistulosa which is usually more or less parallel-sided and in scattered clumps, not solo. Also in my experience Macrotyphula is usually associated with birch litter, this looks like oak/beech. It looks more like a damaged Clavariadelphus pistillaris which is supposed to be up to 30cm tall X 2.5 cm at apex. See page 146 in Courtecuisse.
Or I'm wrong......
Cheers, Alan

fairplay · #6 (**permalink**) 25-11-2009, 10:33 PM

Flipping 'eck Alan, you have me worried now, looking in C&D there is a better resemblence to C.pistillaris, but then I turned to Bon, which looks much more fat and squat, whilst FoS shows a photo of 4 specimens of C.pistillaris with only the left specimen coming close to the photo here, the other 3 being much more fat, the same as in Phillips and also Jordan.

I still think it is M.fistulosa, but would welcome other peoples views.

Neil.

cybershot · #7 (**permalink**) 26-11-2009, 07:31 AM

Would it be worth introducing Macrotyphula fistulosa var. contorta into the discussion or am I barking up the wrong tree?

David

Alantb · #8 (**permalink**) 26-11-2009, 08:19 AM

Neil, I take your point about the width of the Clavariadelphus apex, but I still think that this was it. Clearly we need an adjudicator!
I should have a pic of the Macrotyphula somewhere, I'll post it if I can find it - but this shows up the problem with forums, sometimes there just can't be an answer because we are can't see the real thing.

David; Var contorta is smaller, appears on wet twigs and rotten small branches and is -er- contorted.
Alan

cybershot · #9 (**permalink**) 26-11-2009, 01:21 PM

Thank you, I see, contorted as in:

and

Macrotyphula fistulosa var. contorta (Holmsk.) Nannf. & L. Holm, 1985 (a pipe club)

as opposed to:

Another more significant pointer I should have spotted was that, preferably, the wrong tree I was barking up should have been Corylus and cajtep's specimen was on the ground amongst leaf litter similar to Nick's image above.

David