Spores: medium sized, hyaline under the microscope, ellipsoid, smooth, 10-11 × 6-7 µm in size and not blueing in solutions containing iodine. Marginal and facial cystidia: absent. Basidia: usually 2-spored. _Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Often in very large troops in woods, especially under beech. _General Information_: This fungus is recognised by the peculiar shape and dull colours which conceal it so well amongst the dead leaves and woodland debris; in the shade of the tree-canopy it is easily overlooked. _Craterellus sinuosus_ (Fries) Fries is a much smaller species with dirty ochraceous fertile surface and brownish grey cap and stem. ‘Cornucopioides’ means like (oides) a horn of plenty, a familiar object in mediaeval paintings as part of heathen festivities full and overflowing either with fruit or wine, or both! _Illustrations_: Hvass 186; LH 59; NB 123¹; WD 83⁴. [Illustration: Plate 55. Fleshy but leathery fungi: Spores pale-coloured and borne on irregular wrinkles] (iii) Fairy-club fungi ~Clavulina rugosa~ (Fries) Schroeter Wrinkled club _Cap_: absent. _Fruit-body_: length 50-100 mm; width 7-13 mm. _Description_: Fruit-body: club-shaped, simple with blunt apex or irregular blunt branches, white or dirty cream colour, often thickened upwards and marked with longitudinal wrinkles or grooves and the whole surface of the club bearing spores. Stem: absent or extremely short. Flesh: white. Spore-print: white. Spore: medium sized, broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, hyaline under the microscope and not turning bluish grey in iodine solutions, 9-10 × 7-8 µm in size. Cystidia: absent. Basidia: 2-spored. _Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Frequent on the ground in woods, especially in the shade of beech trees or in conifer plantations. _General Information_: Two very closely related species are to be found in similar localities and are equally as common; they are _C. cristata_ (Fries) Schroeter with strongly branched white fruit-body, each branch ending in pinkish or lavender-white, divided, sharply pointed branchlets and _C. cinerea_ (Fries) Schroeter with irregular greyish or dark grey branches with a flush of violaceous. These three species are very closely related; in fact so many intermediates between the extreme morphological forms are known that some authorities have considered them simply forms of a single species. All these species lack cystidia. rugosa--wrinkled, referring to the spore-bearing surface. cristata--crested, referring to the branchlets. cinerea--ash-grey, referring to the colour. All these species are often found blackened by the growth of the microscopic fungus, _Helminthosphaeria clavariae_ (Tulasne) Fuckel. _Illustrations_: _C. rugosa_--LH 55; WD 104⁵. _C. cristata_--LH 55; NB 153⁵; WD 104². _C. cinerea_--WD 104¹.