Purple fairy club
Edibility - Good
Health Benefits - Excellent
Alloclavaria purpurea
Photo taken by Calvin De Jong
Description
Classification
Kingdom Fungi
Phylum Basidiomycota
Class Basidiomycetes
Order Agaricales
Family Clavariaceae
Genus Alloclavaria
Height 12 cm
Width 2-6 mm
Spore print white
Odor & taste mild
Edibility edible
Stipe bare
Cap no cap
Mycelium white
The numerous slender cylindrical spindles that makeup these fungi can grow up to 12 cm tall. The color is usually purple or lavender, although the color can fade in older specimens. The elongate-fusoid are often unbranched and are flattened on one side or grooved, usually crooked and twisted.
Distribution and habitat
The Alloclavaria purpurea grows on wet soils, amongst grasses and mosses typically in mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere. They typically have a symbiotic relationship with spruce and fir trees.
Tree association fir, and spruce
Soil wet
Fruiting time spring to early fall
Uses & Benefits
One can use a purple fairy club to make mushroom stock, which may help to lower the chances of some cancers developing in the body. Polysaccharides extracted from the mycelial culture of A. purpura and administered intraperitoneally into white mice at a dosage of 300 mg/kg inhibited the growth of Sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich solid cancers by 80% and 70%, respectively (Ohtsuka et al., 1973).
Parts used:
Fruiting body
Health Benefits:
Help inhibit the growth of cancers.
Boost immune system
lower cholesterol levels
Ways to use:
Broth
Cooked
References:
Olexia PD. (1968).The genus Clavaria sensu strictu in North America.University of Tennessee PhD thesis. 94 pp
Calvin De Jong
Content Writer/Photographer
I am a naturalist from the Okanagan. My passions are taken photos of nature and foraging all its wonders.