Clavulinopsis sulcata

The fungus was originally described by the English cryptogamist Miles Joseph Berkeley in 1843 as Clavaria miniata, from collections made in Uitenhage, South Africa.[3] Dutch mycologist Casper van Overeem gave it the name by which it is now known in 1923, when he made it the type species of the newly circumscribed genus Clavulinopsis.[4] It forms part of a species complex.[2]

The fruit body of Clavulinopsis sulcata is cylindrical or somewhat club-shaped, up to 70 by 7 mm (2.8 by 0.3 in) borne on a cylindrical stipe up to 20 mm (0.8 in) long. Several fruit bodies may grow close together, or they may grow singly, or in groups of two or three. At first they are tapering, but become irregularly fleshy or inflated later, and ridged or wrinkled and somewhat waxy as they age. The flesh is pink or orange-pink; the stipe is a similar colour but is pale pinkish-salmon at the base. The flesh is odourless and tastes mildly of carrots, with a slightly bitter aftertaste. The spores are borne on the sides of the clubs and have thin walls; they measure 5.8–7.2 by 5.8–6.8 µm, and are globose and opalescent.[5]

Clavulinopsis sulcata has a widespread distribution. It was first described (as Clavaria miniata) from South Africa, and is also present in North America,[6] and Asia. In Australasia, it is found in eastern Australia and New Zealand, where its range includes the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, as well as both islands of New Zealand. It is a fairly common fungus, and its conservation status has been assessed as being of least concern. It grows on the ground among leaf litter.[7] In Tasmania it is found in mixed Nothofagus and Leptospermum woodland.[8]