Plants and animals of Pointfield

Dense, clump-forming coral, dull buff-yellow coloured with cinnamon patches; stubby branches which at their tip give rise to 2-6 white stubby projections; basal branches flattened rather than cylindrical and often wrinkled. Staining brownish to dark grey in places where brused or damaged, not green. Spore print dark cream. Spores tear-drop-shaped and verrucose; 7.2-10.0 x 3.8-4.2 um mean = 8.5 x 4.0 um, N = 23; Qav.= 2.14. Basidia 4-spored. Star-shaped crystals common in basal hyphae. Stains almost black in contact with KOH; bruises a greyish colour.

The cinnamon-buff colouring, the lack of green bruising, and its occurrence on pine needle debris distinguish this from P. abietina.

Growing at base of leyland cypress (Cupressus x leylandii) in deep needle litter.