Clavaria zollingeri Lv.

Common name: Coral Fungus.

Description: This beautiful, lilac to violet or violaceous brown coral fungus can be 67 cm high and is extensively branched. If examined closely, the branches are usually be seen to be dichotomous. The flesh is very brittle. It is usually found as a single, small tuft, but sometimes it can be gregarious over a small area.

The spores measure 67 × 45 µm and are broadly ellipsoidal, smooth and colourless but white in mass.

Substratum: Clavaria zollingeri is found on soil among litter, usually in damp, sheltered conditions and often under tree ferns in eucalypt forests.

Distribution: Known from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Notes: This species appears to be very widely distributed, and is also found in New Zealand, North America and Europe.