Candelabra coralArtomyces pyxidatus

There is no true cap. The fruiting body is coral-like and bushy, 4 to 10 centimeters tall, made up of numerous upright branching twigs. Its most distinctive feature is the branch tips, which bear small crown-like cups with several toothed points around the rim, like tiny wreaths. When young it is white, cream or pale ochre; with age it turns yellow, and it browns when handled and as it ages.

The spore-bearing surface is smooth and covers the whole surface of the branches. Spores form on the outer surface of the branches, with no gills or tubes. The spore print is white. The characteristic crown-like toothed branch tips are the key diagnostic feature that sets this mushroom apart from other coral fungi.

There is no distinct stem; the fruiting body attaches to the wood by a short shared base from which the branches fan out. The base is whitish, sometimes with felty mycelium. The whole structure is springy and fairly firm, like a brittle little shrub.

The flesh is white, springy-fibrous and fairly firm. In young mushrooms the taste is mild with a distinct peppery or slightly acrid note that grows into bitterness with age. When cut, the color barely changes; only old fruiting bodies turn yellow and brown overall. Only young, pale specimens are good for the table.

The smell is faint and mushroomy, with no sharp notes. Aroma is not a defining feature; the mushroom is recognized above all by its coral-like shape with crown-like toothed branch tips and by its growth on dead hardwood.