Truncate Club

Clavariadelphus truncatus

Coniferous and mixed forests. Summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies large, shaped like a blunt club. Club 6-12 (15) cm tall, the upper part 3-7 cm across at its widest, the lower part gradually tapering to the base; surface smooth or slightly furrowed, velvety yellowish, orange, pale brown or with a pink tinge. Flesh firm, corky, whitish, darkening when broken or cut, taking on a brownish-violet tinge, mild-tasting. Characteristic features: similar to the giant club (Clavariadelphus pistillaris), but the head looks as if cut off, blunt, and the stem is shorter. Grows only in coniferous forests. Inedible. The largest club fungus, found only once in a mixed spruce forest, Gudeliai area, Marijampolė district. Deserves protection.