Pterula multifida
Pterula multifida is a species of mushroom producing fungus in the family Pterulaceae. Taxonomy It was first described in 1861 by the Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries who classified it as Pterula multifida based on specimens he had found in 1857. François Fulgis Chevallier's Penicillaria multifida may be confused with this in the taxonomic history due to the identical abbreviation of P. multifida. However this is unrelated and Penicillaria multifida is now a nomen superfluum and considered illegitimate. Penicillaria multifida was a reclassification of Pierre Bulliard's Clavaria penicillata and that species did go to be reclassified as another Pterula species however in 1930 when Fries classified it as Pterula penicillata. Pterula multifida var. densissima was described in 1958 by the Czech mycologist Albert Pilát. The citation he gave for this variant was 'B. et C. 1873' and in the same text he also wrote 'Pterula densissima Berk. et Curt. 1873' which has led to Pterula densissima being listed as a synonym of Pterula multifida. However the taxonomic records for this likewise have some citation errors so they remain unclear. Description Pterula multifida is a small whitish coral fungus with a delicate branching structure. Fruit body: 1-5mm thin, hairlike coral that