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Ramaria coulterae

Scates

a fungus

G3Vulnerable Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G3VulnerableGlobal Rank

MediumThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.57.10279

Element CodeNFSM000146

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryFungus

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomFungi

PhylumBasidiomycota

ClassBasidiomycetes

OrderPhallales

FamilyRamariaceae

GenusRamaria

Concept Reference

Castellano, M.A., E. Cazares, B. Fondrick, and T. Dreisbach. 2003. Handbook to additional fungal species of Special Concern in the Northwest Forest Plan. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-572. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 144 pp. Online. Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr572.pdf

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2024-12-19

Change Date2024-12-19

Edition Date2024-12-19

Edition AuthorsEfren Cazares (2002), rev. Johnson, J. (2024)

Threat ImpactMedium

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences21 - 80

Rank Reasons

Ramaria coulterae is known for scattered areas of old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. This group is taxonomically difficult and collections in Colorado and the Great Lakes region may belong to a different species. Its old-growth forest habitat may be threatened by logging, road construction, wildfires, and climate change.

Range Extent Comments

Ramaria coulterae is found in the northwestern United States in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and northern California. There are outlying observations in Colorado, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada, that may not represent the same species. Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, Mycoportal 2024).

Occurrences Comments

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are 36-52 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, Mycoportal 2024).

Threat Impact Comments

While threats to this species are not well documented, threats to its old-growth forest habitat include logging, road construction and maintenance, wildfires and fire suppression activities, and climate change.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Ramaria coulterae is believed to be restricted to mature and old-growth coniferous forests, although many records do not disclose habitat information (Siegel 2020, Castellano et al. 2003).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest/WoodlandForest - Conifer

Other Nations (2)

United StatesN3

Province	Rank	Native
Oregon	S2	Yes

CanadaNNR

Province	Rank	Native
British Columbia	SU	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
4 - Transportation & service corridors	Small (1-10%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	Moderate (short-term)
4.1 - Roads & railroads	Small (1-10%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	Moderate (short-term)
5 - Biological resource use	Restricted (11-30%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	Moderate (short-term)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvesting	Restricted (11-30%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	Moderate (short-term)
5.3.4 - Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Restricted (11-30%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	Moderate (short-term)
7 - Natural system modifications	Restricted (11-30%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	Moderate (short-term)
7.1 - Fire & fire suppression	Restricted (11-30%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	Moderate (short-term)
11 - Climate change & severe weather	Pervasive (71-100%)	Serious - moderate	Low (long-term)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alteration	Pervasive (71-100%)	Serious - moderate	Low (long-term)

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL, EPHEMERAL FRUITING BODY

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (2)

Washington (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Abercrombie - Hooknose	Colville National Forest	33,862
Salmo - Priest B	Colville National Forest	11,869

References (12)

Castellano, M.A., E. Cazares, B. Fondrick, and T. Dreisbach. 2003. Handbook to additional fungal species of Special Concern in the Northwest Forest Plan. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-572. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 144 pp. Online. Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr572.pdf
Castellano, M. A., J. E. Smith, T. O'Dell, E. Cazares and S. Nugent. 1999. Handbook to strategy 1 fungal species in the Northwest Forest Plan. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report PNW-GTR-476. Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR. 195 pp. Online. Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr476.pdf
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
Index Fungorum and Species Fungorum. 2018. In Index Fungorum-Species Fungorum (<a href="https://indexfungorum.org" target="_blank">https://indexfungorum.org</a> and <a href="https://speciesfungorum.org" target="_blank">https://speciesfungorum.org</a>) database export on 16 June 2018. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Index Fungorum and Species Fungorum. 2025. In Index Fungorum-Species Fungorum (<a href="https://indexfungorum.org" target="_blank">https://indexfungorum.org</a> and <a href="https://speciesfungorum.org" target="_blank">https://speciesfungorum.org</a>) database export on 29 September 2025. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
MycoBank. 2025. MycoBank database download, export date January 2025. International Mycological Association. [http://www.mycobank.org]
MyCoPortal. 2024. Mycology Collections Portal. Online. Available: https://www.mycoportal.org/portal/index.php. (Accessed 2024).
NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Petersen, R.H., and C. Scates. 1988. Vernally fruiting taxa of Ramaria from the Pacific Northwest. Mycotaxon 33: 101-144.
Policelli, N., T. Horton, A. T. Hudon, T. R. Patterson, J. M. Bhatnagar. 2020. Back to Roots: The Role of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi in Boreal and Temperate Forest Restoration. Front. For. Glob. Change, Sec. Forest Soils. Volume 3 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00097
Seigel, N. 2020. Ramaria coulterae (Proposed). IUCN, The Global Fungal Red List Initiative. Online. Available: https://redlist.info/iucn/species_view/135193/ (Accessed 2024).

Ramaria coulterae

Habitat

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