Clavaria

Clavaria is a genus of fungi in the family Clavariaceae. Species of Clavaria produce basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are either cylindrical to club-shaped or branched and coral-like. They are often grouped with similar-looking species from other genera, when they are collectively known as the clavarioid fungi. All Clavaria species are terrestrial and most (if not all) are believed to be saprotrophic (decomposing dead plant material). In Europe, they are typical of old, mossy, unimproved grassland. In North America and elsewhere, they are more commonly found in woodlands.

==History== Clavaria (the name is derived from the Latin "clava", a club) was first introduced as a genus name by Vaillant (1727), later accepted by Micheli (1729), and was one of the original genera used by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum of 1753. It contained all species of fungi with erect, club-shaped or branched (coral-like) fruit bodies, including many that are now referred to the Ascomycota. Subsequent authors described over 1200 species in the genus. The name Clavaria was also used for a group of red algae in the Gelidiaceae family of the Rhodophyta by Stackhouse in 1816. Because Clavaria Stackh. was also validly published, Donk in 1949 proposed that Clavaria Stackh. be rejected as a homonym of Clavaria Fries and that the latter name be retained as a nomen conservandum (conserved name). This proposal was moved by Doty (1948), recommended for adoption by Rogers (1949), and approved by the Special Committee for Fungi.