THIS DATA HAS NOT BEEN VERIFIED BY AN EXPERT. Use at your own risk.
Pallid coralRamaria pallida
Also known as: Bellyache coral
Passport
- Hymenophore
- Smooth
- Cap colour
- Cream
- Size
- Medium (5–15 cm)
POISONOUS
Eating it causes poisoning. Do not pick it unless you have identified it with certainty.
If you suspect poisoning, call your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK) immediately
Quick answers
Where to look?
When does it appear? Europe
Description
The pallid coral (Ramaria pallida) is a poisonous coral fungus. Its German name, Bauchweh-Koralle, means bellyache coral, and that's exactly what it does. Between half an hour and three hours after eating it, people get stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, and sensitive people can be hit harder. The substances responsible haven't been identified. Together with the salmon coral, it's the reason we don't recommend collecting any Ramaria, not even the ones old books called edible.
It's a bushy coral 5 to 15 cm tall, occasionally up to 20 cm. Pale cream branches, the colour of milky coffee, fork again and again above a stout whitish base. The tips of young branches are blunt and faintly lilac-pink. The trouble is that many other corals fade with age too, the yellow ones as well as those that had red tips. So a faded pallid coral is easily mistaken for a rosso, yellow or golden coral.
The pallid coral is mycorrhizal and grows on the ground, mostly in broadleaved woods with oak and beech, less often under spruce. It favours chalky or limestone soils, and in northern Europe it also grows in conifer forests on limestone. It fruits from late summer to mid-autumn, with most records in early autumn. Most European records come from Sweden, where it is listed as Near Threatened.
What should you do if you've eaten it? Sip water and see a doctor. If vomiting and diarrhoea are severe or don't settle, or if a child or an elderly person is affected, call emergency services on 112 (999 in the UK). Keep any leftovers or photos to help the doctors.
Cap
There is no cap. The fruit body is bushy, 5 to 15 cm tall and wide, occasionally up to 20 cm, with dense, repeatedly forking branches.
The colour is pale: cream branches like milky coffee and a whitish base. Young branch tips are blunt, finely toothed and faintly lilac-pink. The whole fruit body fades further with age.
Hymenophore
There are no gills or pores. The smooth spore-bearing surface covers the branches on all sides.
The spore print is pale yellow. The spores are elliptical, 9–12 × 4.5–6.5 µm and finely warty. Only a microscope reliably separates it from similar corals.
Stem
There is no separate stem: the branches rise from a thick whitish base. There is no ring and no volva.
Flesh
The flesh is white and firm. Field guides describe the taste as mild to bitterish.
Smell
The smell is faint: German guides compare it to soapy water or call it slightly sour, and a Swedish guide calls it spicy. It's of little help in identification.
›Scientific synonyms (2)
Ramaria mairei Donk, Clavaria pallida Schaeff.
Don’t mix them up
Pallid coral lookalikes and comparison
Compare with another mushroom| Feature | Pallid coral | Salmon coral |
|---|---|---|
| Hymenophore | Smooth | Smooth |
| Cap colour | Cream, White, Violet | Pink, Orange, Yellow |
| Smell | Sour | Odourless, Unpleasant |
| Edibility | Poisonous | Poisonous |
Other lookalikes
Rosso coralInediblecomparison →
Ramaria aureaInediblecomparison →
Ramaria flavaInediblecomparison →
Crested coralEdiblecomparison →
Readers’ finds · 0
Readers’ photos aren’t checked by an expert. “Confirmed” means foragers in the feed agree — not a guarantee. When in doubt, leave it.
Related species
Mushrooms of the same genus and habitat — to study side by side and never mix up.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Is Ramaria pallida edible?
No, it's poisonous. It causes stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea between half an hour and three hours after a meal. Poisonings are usually mild, but sensitive people can be hit harder. It isn't a food mushroom.
Why is it called the bellyache coral?
That's a translation of its German name, Bauchweh-Koralle. German mushroom literature has long described stomach pain and diarrhoea after eating it, and the name stuck.
Is coral fungus edible?
Some corals have been eaten for generations, but several, including the pallid coral and the salmon coral, cause stomach upsets. Many Ramaria species look alike and are often told apart only under a microscope, so we don't recommend collecting any Ramaria for food.
How do you tell the pallid coral from the rosso coral?
The rosso coral (Ramaria botrytis) has thick, short branches with bright pink, wine red or purple tips. The pallid coral's tips are only faintly lilac and the whole bush is pale cream. Old rosso corals fade too, though, and then only a microscope separates them reliably.
Could it be confused with the crested coral?
Both are pale corals. But the crested coral is small, up to about 7 cm, with slender branches whose tips split into sharp teeth like a crest, and it leaves a white spore print. The pallid coral is larger, with a stout base, blunt tips and a pale yellow spore print.
How is it different from Ramaria flava?
Ramaria flava is lemon yellow, while the pallid coral is cream with lilac-tinged tips. Vienna's mushroom advice service warns that telling Ramaria flava from the corals that cause stomach upsets is very difficult, often only possible under a microscope.
Where does the pallid coral grow?
On the ground in broadleaved woods with oak and beech, less often under spruce, usually on chalky or limestone soils. It's commonest in Scandinavia and the Alps, and much rarer in Britain.
When does the pallid coral appear?
From late summer to mid-autumn, with most finds in early autumn.
Sources
- [1]GBIF
- [2]Index Fungorum
- [3]First Nature, Pat O'Reilly
- [4]Wikipedia (English)
- [5]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [6]Википедия (русская)
- [7]Wikipedia (de): Bauchweh-Koralle
- [8]Svampguiden: Pallid Coral (Ramaria pallida)
- [9]Stadt Wien, Pilzberatung: Schwefelgelbe Koralle
- [10]Norges sopp- og nyttevekstforbund: Normlisten 2024 (2024)
- [11]DGfM: Positivliste der Speisepilze (Stand 01.05.2026) (2026)
- [12]Rozporządzenie Ministra Zdrowia: grzyby dopuszczone do obrotu (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 258) (2026)
- [13]GBIF: коралові гриби, знахідки в Європі та Україні (01.11.2026) (2026)
- [14]Вікіпедія (українська): Рамарія