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Spring Ramaria:�An Exercise in Identification

By Michael Beug

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The Spring Ramaria Species

are all big, beautiful, edible mushrooms

There are just 13 spring Ramaria species, 2 of which are probably confined to California. Most of these species are only found in the spring, but Ramaria caulifloriformis, Ramaria rubripermanens, Ramaria rasilispora var. scatesiana and Ramaria vinosimaculans are also found in the fall.

All of the spring Ramaria species have large to massive fleshy stipes. Many are very meaty and fruit in great abundance, providing tempting fare for the mycophagists among us. The two tastiest species are Ramaria rubripermanens and Ramaria vinosimaculans. While none of the spring Ramaria species are known to be poisonous, members of the Ramaria magnipes/rasilispora complex have been known to cause gastric upset in some sensitive individuals.

Most of the spring species are found above 3,000 feet (1,000 meters) in elevation in generally dry areas where they often just form lumps under the duff and are difficult to find. For the most part, these species stay quite pallid until exposed to light and thus a given species growing in a wetter area where the mushroom emerges from the duff can look somewhat different from a mushroom growing in the driest parts of its range where it stays largely hypogeous

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“Rusty Root”

.

The chemical needed for best use of this key is Melzer’s Reagent (MI) to test whether or not the flesh of the stipe is amyloid (changes to a color resembling a bruise on human flesh) or is non-amyloid (color stays the same iodine color as the applied solution). One species, Ramaria coulterae can be identified by cutting it in half and looking for brown hyphae in the base of the stipe – a feature I call a “rusty root”.

Ramaria coulterae

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Now It is time for you to go to work. In the

following slides, a portion of the key will appear

on the left side of the image. On the top right

will be an image of the mushroom you are

to identify. In the lower right you will see your

instructions. We will start with this mystery species.

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Key to Spring Ramaria species

1a Outer branches and tips of exposed branches greenish yellow to yellow to brown or orange to deep orange (tips still covered with duff may be white)…...…..4

1b Outer branches and tips of exposed branches white to pale pink to buff to blood red or purple …………………..2

2a Exposed branch tips white to cream to pale pink or purple, stipe bruising brownish to reddish-brown; strong reaction with IKI or MI; (spores striate)….

……Figures 1, 2, and 3…….Three Undescribed species

2b Exposed branch tips pale pink to buff to wine-red to blood red; (spores striate or not; use this choice if stipe bruises and the spores are not striate)................….……3

3a Texture fibrous and stringy in lower branches; stipe and branches very slowly brunnescent or bruising dull bluish violet; flesh at base of stipe with brown hyphae forming a (sometimes indistinct) “rusty root” that shows as a roughly triangular area of brownish flesh at the base of the stipe; inamyloid; (spores not striate; true clamps absent but false clamps present).....Ramaria coulterae

3b Texture firm and hard when young, becoming soft and fleshy in age; stipe and branches not bruising; no “rusty root;” IKI or MI slowly deep purple-brown or red-brown; (spores striate; basidia clamped)……..R. rubripermanens

Name the illustrated species without using chemical or

microscopic information using the key at the left. What

do you need to know to proceed?

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Key to Spring Ramaria species

1a Outer branches and tips of exposed branches greenish yellow to yellow to brown or orange to deep orange (tips still covered with duff may be white)…...…..4

1b Outer branches and tips of exposed branches white to pale pink to buff to blood red or purple …………………..2

2a Exposed branch tips white to cream to pale pink or purple, stipe bruising brownish to reddish-brown; strong reaction with IKI or MI; (spores striate)….

……Figures 1, 2, and 3…….Three Undescribed species

2b Exposed branch tips pale pink to buff to wine-red to blood red; (spores striate or not; use this choice if stipe bruises and the spores are not striate)................….……3

3a Texture fibrous and stringy in lower branches; stipe and branches very slowly brunnescent or bruising dull bluish violet; flesh at base of stipe with brown hyphae forming a (sometimes indistinct) “rusty root” that shows as a roughly triangular area of brownish flesh at the base of the stipe; inamyloid; (spores not striate; true clamps absent but false clamps present).....Ramaria coulterae

3b Texture firm and hard when young, becoming soft and fleshy in age; stipe and branches not bruising; no “rusty root;” IKI or MI slowly deep purple-brown or red-brown; (spores striate; basidia clamped)……..R. rubripermanens

You need to cut the mushroom in half and check the texture

plus look for a “rusty root” plus check for staining reactions.

The illustrated species does not have a “rusty root” and the

texture of the young edible stage specimen is firm. Neither

branches nor base stain brown.

What do you now think it probably is?

What chemical test and/or microscopic tests would confirm

your suspicion?

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Key to Spring Ramaria species

1a Outer branches and tips of exposed branches greenish yellow to yellow to brown or orange to deep orange (tips still covered with duff may be white)…...…..4

1b Outer branches and tips of exposed branches white to pale pink to buff to blood red or purple …………………..2

2a Exposed branch tips white to cream to pale pink or purple, stipe bruising brownish to reddish-brown; strong reaction with IKI or MI; (spores striate)….

………………………………..Three Undescribed species

2b Exposed branch tips pale pink to buff to wine-red to blood red; (spores striate or not; use this choice if stipe bruises and the spores are not striate)................….……3

3a Texture fibrous and stringy in lower branches; stipe and branches very slowly brunnescent or bruising dull bluish violet; flesh at base of stipe with brown hyphae forming a (sometimes indistinct) “rusty root” that shows as a roughly triangular area of brownish flesh at the base of the stipe; inamyloid; (spores not striate; true clamps absent but false clamps present).....Ramaria coulterae

3b Texture firm and hard when young, becoming soft and fleshy in age; stipe and branches not bruising; no “rusty root;” IKI or MI slowly deep purple-brown or red-brown; (spores striate; basidia clamped)……..R. rubripermanens

The spores are striate, the basidia are clamped, and there

is a slow deep purple-brown to red-brown reaction to

Melzer’s reagent – any one of these features clinches the ID

What is it? (P.S. – it has a delicious nutty flavor and one

specimen can weigh up to a pound). Answer on next slide.

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It was Ramaria rubripermanens.

Some of the color variation is illustrated

Image by Kit Scates Barnhart

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1a Outer branches and tips of exposed branches greenish yellow to yellow to brown or orange to deep orange (tips still covered with duff may be white)……………………………...4

1b Outer branches and tips of exposed branches white to pale pink to buff to blood red or purple …………………………………………………………….……..2

.

4a (1a) Branches pale yellow to bright yellow or light salmon to salmon to orange with the region where branches merge with stipe sometimes yellow (faint to distinct yellow “bellyband”)….…………………….……………………………6

4b Branches buff to light tan, light brown, flesh tan or cocoa colored……………………………………………………….….5

5a Branches pale buff to light tan, numerous abortive branchlets; (spores distinctly verrucose, short and wide ~9.3 x 5.2 µm, Em 1.8; clamped basidia; vernal collections known only from Northern California)………

……………………………R. caulifloriformis (Leathers) Corner

5b Branches cocoa-colored and bruising brown to watery brown; lacking abortive branchlets; (spores almost smooth to obscurely roughened, slightly longer and not as fat as above ~9.85 x 4.9 µm, Em 2.1; basidia not clamped )...

..."Brown Baga"............................................R. marrii Scates

Using the key fragment at the left, identify

this species. Note that in the image, the

branches and stipe both are bruised brown

Answer on next slide

Image by Kit Scates Barnhart

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Ramaria marrii

all but upper left image by Kit Scates Barnhart

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1a Outer branches and tips of exposed branches greenish yellow to yellow to brown or orange to deep orange (tips still covered with duff may be white)……………………………...4

1b Outer branches and tips of exposed branches white to pale pink to buff to blood red or purple …………………………………………………………….……..2

.

4a (1a) Branches pale yellow to bright yellow or light salmon to salmon to orange with the region where branches merge with stipe sometimes yellow (faint to distinct yellow “bellyband”)….…………………….……………………………6

4b Branches buff to light tan, light brown, flesh tan or cocoa colored……………………………………………………….….5

5a Branches pale buff to light tan, numerous abortive branchlets; (spores distinctly verrucose, short and wide ~9.3 x 5.2 µm, Em 1.8; clamped basidia; vernal collections known only from Northern California)………

……………………………R. caulifloriformis (Leathers) Corner

5b Branches cocoa-colored and bruising brown to watery brown; lacking abortive branchlets; (spores almost smooth to obscurely roughened, slightly longer and not as fat as above ~9.85 x 4.9 µm, Em 2.1; basidia not clamped )...

..."Brown Baga"............................................R. marrii Scates

Using the key fragment at the left, identify

this species.

Answer on next slide

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Image by Kit Scates Barnhart

Ramaria caulifloriformis (Some authors place this species in synonomy with R. cartilaginea, a more yellow fall species)

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1a Outer branches and tips of exposed branches greenish yellow to yellow to brown or orange to deep orange (tips still covered with duff may be white)……………………………..………………..4

1b Outer branches and tips of exposed branches white to pale pink to buff to blood red or purple…………………………………..2

2a Exposed branch tips white to cream to pale pink or purple, stipe bruising brownish to reddish-brown; strong reaction with IKI or MI; (spores striate)….……...…….Three Undescribed species

2b Exposed branch tips pale pink to buff to wine-red to blood red; (spores striate or not; use this choice if stipe bruises and the spores are not striate)...…….………………………………………3

3a Texture fibrous and stringy in lower branches; stipe and branches very slowly brunnescent or bruising dull bluish violet; flesh at base of stipe with brown hyphae forming a (sometimes indistinct) “rusty root” that shows as a roughly triangular area of brownish flesh at the base of the stipe; inamyloid; (spores not striate; true clamps absent but false clamps present)… ……………................................................................R. coulterae

3b Texture firm and hard when young, becoming soft and fleshy in age; stipe and branches not bruising; no “rusty root;” IKI or MI slowly deep purple-brown or red-brown; (spores striate; basidia clamped)…………………………..………...…..R. rubripermanens

4a (1a) Branches pale yellow to bright yellow or light salmon to salmon to orange with the region where branches merge with stipe sometimes yellow (faint to distinct yellow “bellyband”)….……………….…………….…………………………6

4b Branches buff to light tan, light brown, flesh tan or cocoa colored………………………………………………………….….….5

Where do you wind up

with this species?

The next slide takes you

farther into the key

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6a (4a) Branches pallid orange to bright orange, tips orange to deep orange, often yellow where protected by duff; non-amyloid; (basidia not clamped)…R. armeniaca R.H. Petersen and Scates

6b Branches yellow to buff or salmon to salmon-orange or orange, tips may be yellow-green to rich yellow and tinged reddish, but not orange; stipe and branches usually weakly amyloid to amyloid; (basidia clamped)...………….………….……7

7a Branches white to pale yellow or maize yellow……………….9

7b Branches buff to salmon, bright salmon-orange, orange or peach to light red……………………………………..……..….……8

8a Salmon to orange branches; light yellow belly band; tips yellow to rich yellow; branch context bright salmon or salmon-orange….....R. rubricarnata var. verna R.H. Peterson and Scates

8b Buff to pale yellow branches with a hint of salmon; lacking yellow belly band; tips light yellow to greenish-yellow; sometimes weakly brunnescent; branch context off-white to pinkish buff.…………......R. rubricarnata var. pallida R.H. Petersen & Scates

9a (7a) Branches ivory to cream with burgundy colored stains, especially on the stipe where it was pressed against the substrate; (long finely ornamented spores ~12.5 µm)..."Pale Winey Base”…..........…R. vinosimaculans Marr and D.E. Stuntz

9b Branches cream to light yellow or maize yellow, pale salmon to buff in age but not found with burgundy red stains……..…...10

What species do you think this

Is? What more would you like

to know to be more confident?

The next slide gives more

critical information

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4a (1a) Branches pale yellow to bright yellow or light salmon to salmon to orange with the region where branches merge with stipe sometimes yellow (faint to distinct yellow “bellyband”)……6

4b Branches buff to light tan, light brown, flesh tan or cocoa colored…………………………………………………………….….5

6a (4a) Branches pallid orange to bright orange, tips orange to deep orange, often yellow where protected by duff; non-amyloid; (basidia not clamped)…R. armeniaca R.H. Petersen and Scates

6b Branches yellow to buff or salmon to salmon-orange or orange, tips may be yellow-green to rich yellow and tinged reddish, but not orange; stipe and branches usually weakly amyloid to amyloid; (basidia clamped)...………….………….……7

7a Branches white to pale yellow or maize yellow……………….9

7b Branches buff to salmon, bright salmon-orange, orange or peach to light red……………………………………..……..….……8

8a Salmon to orange branches; light yellow belly band; tips yellow to rich yellow

...................R. rubricarnata var. verna R.H. Peterson and Scates

8b Buff to pale yellow branches with a hint of salmon; lacking yellow belly band; tips light yellow to greenish-yellow; sometimes weakly brunnescent………………......R. rubricarnata var. pallida R.H. Petersen & Scates

9a (7a) Branches ivory to cream with burgundy colored stains, especially on the stipe where it was pressed against the substrate; (long finely ornamented spores ~12.5 µm)..."Pale Winey Base”….........……R. vinosimaculans Marr and D.E. Stuntz

9b Branches cream to light yellow or maize yellow, pale salmon to buff in age but not found with burgundy red stains……..…...10

Melzers Reagent on a piece

of the stipe showed colors

similar to those of a bruise.

An extensive search of the

bases of the basidia turned up

a few clamps. The branch

context (flesh) is orangish.

Answer on next slide.

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Ramaria rubricarnata var. verna (note the bright salmon to salmon-orange flesh)

Image by Kit Scates Barnhart

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1a Outer branches and tips of exposed branches greenish yellow to yellow to brown or orange to deep orange (tips still covered with duff may be white)………………………………….…………….……………..4

1b Outer branches and tips of exposed branches white to pale pink to buff to blood red or purple …………………………..…………………....2

2a Exposed branch tips white to cream to pale pink or purple, stipe bruising brownish to reddish-brown; strong reaction with IKI or MI; (spores striate)….……………….…...…….Three Undescribed species

2b Exposed branch tips pale pink to buff to wine-red to blood red; (spores striate or not; use this choice if stipe bruises and the spores are not striate)...……………………………………………………..……3

3a Texture fibrous and stringy in lower branches; stipe and branches very slowly brunnescent or bruising dull bluish violet; flesh at base of stipe with brown hyphae forming a (sometimes indistinct) “rusty root” that shows as a roughly triangular area of brownish flesh at the base of the stipe; inamyloid; (spores not striate; true clamps absent but false clamps present)……………………………………………….R. coulterae

3b Texture firm and hard when young, becoming soft and fleshy in age; stipe and branches not bruising; no “rusty root;” IKI or MI slowly deep purple-brown or red-brown; (spores striate; basidia clamped)……………………………...…………...…..R. rubripermanens

4a (1a) Branches pale yellow to bright yellow or light salmon to salmon to orange with the region where branches merge with stipe sometimes yellow (faint to distinct yellow “bellyband”).………………………………6

4b Branches buff to light tan, light brown, flesh tan or cocoa colored ..5

5a Branches pale buff to light tan, numerous abortive branchlets; (spores distinctly verrucose, short and wide ~9.3 x 5.2 µm, Em 1.8; clamped basidia; vernal collections known only from Northern California)………………..…………… R. caulifloriformis

5b Branches cocoa-colored and bruising brown to watery brown; lacking abortive branchlets; (spores almost smooth to obscurely roughened, slightly longer and not as fat as above ~9.85 x 4.9 µm, Em 2.1; basidia not clamped ).................................R. marrii

Where do you get

with this species?

The key continues on

the next slide if you

think you need it.

Image by Kit Scates Barnhart

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6a (4a) Branches pallid orange to bright orange, tips orange to deep orange, often yellow where protected by duff; non-amyloid; (basidia not clamped)…R. armeniaca R.H. Petersen and Scates

6b Branches yellow to buff or salmon to salmon-orange or orange, tips may be yellow-green to rich yellow and tinged reddish, but not orange; stipe and branches usually weakly amyloid to amyloid; (basidia clamped)...………….………….……7

7a Branches white to pale yellow or maize yellow……………….9

7b Branches buff to salmon, bright salmon-orange, orange or peach to light red……………………………………..……..….……8

8a Salmon to orange branches; light yellow belly band; tips yellow to rich yellow

...................R. rubricarnata var. verna R.H. Peterson and Scates

8b Buff to pale yellow branches with a hint of salmon; lacking yellow belly band; tips light yellow to greenish-yellow; sometimes weakly brunnescent………

…..………......R. rubricarnata var. pallida R.H. Petersen & Scates

9a (7a) Branches ivory to cream with burgundy colored stains, especially on the stipe where it was pressed against the substrate; (long finely ornamented spores ~12.5 µm)..."Pale Winey Base”….........……R. vinosimaculans Marr and D.E. Stuntz

9b Branches cream to light yellow or maize yellow, pale salmon to buff in age but not found with burgundy red stains…………..10

What species do you think this

Is? What more would you like

to know to be more confident?

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6a (4a) Branches pallid orange to bright orange, tips orange to deep orange, often yellow where protected by duff; non-amyloid; (basidia not clamped)…R. armeniaca R.H. Petersen and Scates

6b Branches yellow to buff or salmon to salmon-orange or orange, tips may be yellow-green to rich yellow and tinged reddish, but not orange; stipe and branches usually weakly amyloid to amyloid; (basidia clamped)...………….………….……7

7a Branches white to pale yellow or maize yellow……………….9

7b Branches buff to salmon, bright salmon-orange, orange or peach to light red……………………………………..……..….……8

8a Salmon to orange branches; light yellow belly band; tips yellow to rich yellow

...................R. rubricarnata var. verna R.H. Peterson and Scates

8b Buff to pale yellow branches with a hint of salmon; lacking yellow belly band; tips light yellow to greenish-yellow; sometimes weakly brunnescent………………......R. rubricarnata var. pallida R.H. Petersen & Scates

Melzer’s reagent yielded no

reaction. No clamps were

found at the base of the basidia.

What is it?

Answer on the next slide

Image by Kit Scates Barnhart

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Image by Kit Scates Barnhart

Ramaria armeniaca

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1a Outer branches and tips of exposed branches greenish yellow to yellow to brown or orange to deep orange (tips still covered with duff may be white)……………………………………………………………..4

1b Outer branches and tips of exposed branches white to pale pink to buff to blood red or purple ………………………………….………..2

2a Exposed branch tips white to cream to pale pink or purple, stipe bruising brownish to reddish-brown; strong reaction with IKI or MI; (spores striate)…………………………….Three Undescribed species

2b Exposed branch tips pale pink to buff to wine-red to blood red; (spores striate or not; use this choice if stipe bruises and the spores are not striate)...…………………………………………………….……3

3a Texture fibrous and stringy in lower branches; stipe and branches very slowly brunnescent or bruising dull bluish violet; flesh at base of stipe with brown hyphae forming a (sometimes indistinct) “rusty root” that shows as a roughly triangular area of brownish flesh at the base of the stipe; inamyloid; (spores not striate; true clamps absent but false clamps present).......................................................R. coulterae

3b Texture firm and hard when young, becoming soft and fleshy in age; stipe and branches not bruising; no “rusty root;” IKI or MI slowly deep purple-brown or red-brown; (spores striate; basidia clamped) ……………………………..……………………...…..R. rubripermanens

4a (1a) Branches pale yellow to bright yellow or light salmon to salmon to orange with the region where branches merge with stipe sometimes yellow (faint to distinct yellow “bellyband”)….……………6

4b Branches buff to light tan, light brown, flesh tan or cocoa colored ……………………………………………………………………………..5

Starting from the beginning of the key

Where do you wind up?

The next key entries are on the next

slide.

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6a (4a) Branches pallid orange to bright orange, tips orange to deep orange, often yellow where protected by duff; non-amyloid; (basidia not clamped)…

…“Spring Apricot”……. ……R. armeniaca R.H. Petersen and Scates

6b Branches white or yellow to buff or salmon to salmon-orange or orange, tips may be yellow-green to rich yellow and tinged reddish, but not orange; stipe and branches usually weakly amyloid to amyloid; (basidia clamped).................................................…………7

7a Branches white to pale yellow or maize yellow…………..……….9

7b Branches buff to salmon, bright salmon-orange or peach to light red………………………………………………………………...….……8

8a Salmon to orange branches; light yellow belly band; tips yellow to rich yellow.........R. rubricarnata var. verna R.H. Peterson and Scates

8b Buff to pale yellow branches with a hint of salmon; lacking yellow belly band; tips light yellow to greenish-yellow; sometimes weakly brunnescent.....R. rubricarnata var. pallida R.H. Petersen and Scates

9a (7a) Branches ivory to cream with burgundy colored stains, especially on the stipe where it was pressed against the substrate; (long finely ornamented spores ~12.5 µm)..."Pale Winey Base”…........................……R. vinosimaculans Marr and D.E. Stuntz

9b Branches cream to light yellow or maize yellow, pale salmon to buff in age but not found with burgundy red stains……………..…...10

10a Branches white to pale yellow, pale greenish-yellow where exposed; found above 2500 feet (900 meters) in Idaho or 5000 feet (1,800 meters) in Sierra Nevada Mountains, mixed conifers with true firs, spring; non-amyloid; (spore length averages 13.3 µm) ……………….............................R. thiersii R.H. Petersen and Scates

10b Tips and upper branches pale yellow or greenish yellow or maize yellow (may have pinkish or reddish blush in cold, dry spring weather); (spore length averages <12 µm; weakly amyloid)

……………………………... R. magnipes/R rasilispora complex ....11

Species? Answer on next slide.

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All images except for the one used in the previous two slides are by Kit Scates Barnhart

Ramaria vinosimaculans

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