Wrinkled Club and Candlesnuff

Two fungi species that are out in abundance at Foxglove Covert at the moment are Wrinkled Club (Clavulina rugosa) and Candlesnuff (Xylaria hypoxylon). If you are walking around the reserve and see them at a glance, it might be difficult to tell the two apart; both have short, white, slightly spiky looking sticks of fruiting bodies.

However, if you take a longer and closer look, you can easily notice differences between them. There are some distinctive features that will help you tell the two species apart.

Wrinkled Club has, as the name suggests, a wrinkled surface. The fruiting body can be white, cream or a light grey colour. In contrast, the white tip of Candlesnuff might be what catches your eye, but the base of the fungi is actually black!

The differences between these fungi extend beyond the visual aspects. Candlesnuff can be seen throughout the year whereas Wrinkled Club is seen between August and December.

Candlesnuff feeds from, and therefore can be found on, dead tree stumps and fallen branches, usually of broad-leafed trees but sometimes pine trees. Wrinkled Club, on the other hand, is a mycorrhizal fungi. It forms a symbiotic relationship between living deciduous or coniferous tree roots, so the fruiting bodies can be seen all over the woodland floor.

Keep an eye out for these two species of fungi the next time you visit Foxglove Covert!