Medicinal Mushrooms

The coral fungus Clavaria vermicularis, commonly known as fairy fingers.
Photo credit: Dr. Robert Thomas and Dorothy B. Orr © 2001 California Academy of Sciences
Source:  Calphotos

Synonyms

This species is also known as Clavaria fragilis Holmsk.

Description

Sporocarp: the fruiting body, typically between 2-8 cm tall x 2-3 mm thick, is white in color (yellowish towards the tips), smooth, and fragile. Sporocarps are occasionally forked once, and often curved.
Spore print: white.
Spores: elliptical in shape, smooth, thin-walled, and 4.5-7 x 2.5-4.0 µm.
Edibility: edible but watery and insubstantial.
Habitat: this species usually found clustered in tufts growing on the ground in mixed woods or in grassy places; late-fall to mid-winter.

C. vermicularis is the type species of the genus Clavaria.

Common name

Fairy fingers
White spindles
White worm coral
Valkonuijakas (Finnish)
Clavaire vermiclée (French)
Weisse Keule (German)
Maskfingersvamp (Swedish) 

Medicinal properties
Antitumor effects

An extract of the fruit bodies of C. vermicularis inhibited the growth of Sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich solid cancers in mice by 90% and 80%, respectively (Ohtsukaet al., 1973).

Links

• California Fungi
• Trial Key to Club Fungi in the Pacific Northwest
• Mushroom Expert
• Roger's Mushrooms

References

Ohtsuka S, Ueno S, Yoshikumi C, Hirose F, Ohmura Y, Wada T, Fujii T, Takahashi E.
Polysaccharides having an anticarcinogenic effect and a method of producing them from species of Basidiomycetes.
UK Patent 1331513, 26 September 1973.

 

Last modified: 01-Jan-2009

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Medicinal Mushrooms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.