Calocera sp. (Fr.) Fr.

Taxonomic classification: Kingdom Fungi > Phylum Basidiomycetes > Class Dacrymycetes > Order Dacrymycetales > Family Dacrymycetaceae > Genus Calocera

Common name: staghorn fungus or tuning fork

Description: Calocera furcata and C. cornea are jelly fungi characterized most easily by their stiff, but still gelatinous, upright, and yellow fruiting form. Compared to other yellow jelly fungi, such as those in the Dacrymyces and Tremella genera, Calocera fruiting bodies are more opaque (though not completely) in color as well as thicker and less slimy in texture. Individual fruiting bodies of C. furcata and C. cornea are about 1-2 mm wide and up to 20 mm tall (though often much shorter), many with bifurcate or trifurcate tips, hence the common names “tuning fork” or “staghorn” for members of the genus. As the fruiting bodies age, they turn a burnt orange color and curl up. This genus has neither a distinct odor nor taste and are inedible. Similar to other members of the Dacrymycetales order, Calocera have Y-shaped basidia.

Ecology: Saprophytic. Scattered to gregarious growing on the tops of dead branches/logs. Sometimes growing in small dense clumps (caespitose). Widespread across the world.

Tips and tricks for identification: C. furcata and C. cornea are macroscopically quite similar but C. furcata grows on conifer wood and its spores have 3 septa (cross walls), while C. cornea grows on hardwoods (most often oak) and its spores usually have just 1 septum. The yellow color and upright form of Calocera sp. may also be confused for club fungi such as Clavulinopsis fusiformis, but club fungi are much taller (on the order of many centimeters rather than millimeters) and their flesh are fully opaque.