Typhula quisquiliaris

Typhula quisquiliaris was first described by James Sowerby in 1803 as Clavaria obtusa. However, this name was found to be illegitimate,[1] as it had already been given to a different species by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1797.[3] The species was given its sanctioned name several years later by Elias Magnus Fries, in his 1821 Systema Mycologicum. Fries named the species Pistillaria quisquiliaris, having previously (in 1818) named it Clavaria quisquiliaris.[1] The specific name quisquiliaris is from the Latin meaning "pertaining to refuse".[4][5] In the same year, Samuel Frederick Gray reclassified Sowerby's Clavaria obtusa, naming it Geoglossum obtusum. Fries's name was taken up as the valid one, however, and in 1896, Paul Christoph Hennings transferred the species to Typhula, giving the species the name by which it is known today.[1] However, the name Pistillaria quisquiliaris was sometimes used into the 20th century. For instance, Carleton Rea used it in a 1922 publication.[4] The species is commonly known as the bracken club.[6]

Typhula quisquiliaris Mycological characteristics
	Smooth hymenium
	No distinct cap
	Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
	Lacks a stipe
	Ecology is saprotrophic

Typhula quisquiliaris produces fruit bodies in the form of clubs. Each fruit body consists of a single distinct "stem" and "head",[6] and measures up to 7 mm (0.3 in) in height.[7] The surface of the head is smooth and white,[6] and measures 1.5 to 4 mm (0.06 to 0.2 in) by 1 to 2.5 mm (0.04 to 0.1 in). The rounded stem is infertile, and of a similar colour to the head. However, it has a very fine downy covering, and is somewhat translucent. The stem measures from 0.3 to 0.4 mm (0.01 to 0.02 in) in width. The stem attaches to sclerotium which is buried into the branch from which the fruit body grows.[6]

Typhula quisquiliaris fruit bodies are typically found in rows, growing from plant detritus.[6] The species favours bracken,[7] especially Pteridium aquilinum,[7] but the colonisation of dead matter from other plants is not unknown.[6] Upon these substrates, it feeds as a saprotroph, breaking down the dead organic matter in order to sustain itself. The species has been recorded in Europe[6] and northern Africa. In Europe, the fruit bodies can be encountered from April to December.[4]