Fruit bodies up to 70 x 3.5 mm, simple clubs, scattered to gregarious, white to pale; hymenium appearing waxy; stipe and hymenium well marked, at least in dried material; flesh solid to hollow (at least in age). Taste not known; odour strong of garlic in fresh and dried material.
Hyphae of club trama 2-13 µm diam., hyaline, clampless, parallel. Basidia up to 72 x 8 µm,clavate; sterigmata 2, up to 16 µm long.
Spores (teste Reid 1963) subglobose (9.75-12 x 8.75-10.5 µm) to ellipsoid (10.2-13.75 x 7.75-9.75 µm), smooth; hilar appendix prominent.

This brief description comes mostly from Reid (1963) who examined material from Stewart Island. Corner's (1950) original circumscription was taken from notes and could not describe the basidial base (clamped or not), so sub generic placement was not possible. Reid (1963) also did not mention this feature, but Corner (1967) took Reid's account as proving Clavaria alliacea should be placed in subg. Holocoryne.
Later, having thus somehow ascertained the sub generic position of Clavaria alliacea. Corner (1970; p.28) not only led the reader to C. fuscata Oudem., the sub generic position of which was equally not known, but retained Pilat's (1958; p. 222) placement of C. alliodora Bond. & Sing. as a variety of C. fuscata. C. alliodora was described as 2-4 sterigmate, white, and odouriferous of garlic, from a glasshouse in Leningrad. It is not known how it may differ from C. alliacea.