East Coast Gomphus clavatus or Cantharellus brevipes specimens needed

Alan Rockefeller sequenced a Gomphus clavatus he found in Humboldt County, California, and found that it's not the same as the European Gomphus clavatus. That means that the west coast Gomphus clavatus is either a new species, or it's Cantharellus (Gomphus) brevipes, described from New York by Peck in 1883. To figure this out, Alan needs a specimen from New York state or adjoining states.

If you happen to come across something looking like Gomphus clavatus this summer, please notify me (sigridjakob@gmail.com) or Alan Rockefeller (alanrockefeller@gmail.com) and preserve the specimen.

It looks like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomphus_clavatus#/media/File:Gomphus_clavatus_II_Totes_Gebirge.jpg
It's called the pig's ear mushroom because it looks like a wrinkly purple pig's ear. It's distinctive and hard to confuse with anything else.

Posted on June 12, 2021 11:55 AM by sigridjakob