Fruit bodies up to 2 x 1.5 cm, branched, hardly arbuscular, with all parts twisted and gnarled, white, slowly changing to tan here and there (not hysterochroic from base), perhaps in a sub-hygrophanous reaction. Stipe up to 4 x 3 mm, terete to somewhat flattened, arising without a basal pad, inserted nakedly in substrate. Branches in 1-3 ranks, terete to flattened, especially in drying; axils rounded, flattened; internodes diminishing gradually; apices awl-shaped, usually minute, white. Taste and odour negligible.
Macrochemical reaction: FCL on hymenium slate-olive.
Tramal hyphae of branches hardly inflated, hyaline, clamped, more or less free, straight to sinuous, parallel. Subhymenium extensive, of inflated, tortuous hyphae when young, later becoming pseudo-parenchymatous. Hymenium thickening significantly, including embedded spores; basidia 28-35 x 6 µm, subcylindrical, clamped, hyaline; sterigmata 4, straight, spindly. Spores 3.2-4.0 x 2.5-3.2 µm (E =1.22-1.57; E^m =1.34; L^m = 3.78 µm), ellipsoid to ovate, smooth, hardly dextrinoid, thin-walled; contents uniguttulate when fresh, the guttule small, distal, refringent; hilar appendix prominent, papillate.

Under Pinus rigida on soil.

Receptacula ad 20 x 15 mm, ramosa, tortuosa, alba, mutato-alutacea; hymenio in FCL cinereo-olivaceo. Hyphis fibulatis; basidiis 28-35 µm longis. Sporis ellipsoideis ad ovatis, leniter dextrinoideis, hyalinibus, laevibus, 3.2-4.0 x 2.5-3.2 µm.

COMMENTARY: In micromorphology, this comes close to Ramariopsis subtilis (Pers.: Fr.) Pet. from the Northern Hemisphere, with smooth, ellipsoid spores and white, branched fruit bodies. The spores of R. subtilis are larger than those of R. tortuosa, however, and fruit body morphology differs significantly - fruit bodies of R. subtilis are arbuscular, as are those of R. corniculata, whereas those of R. tortuosa are gnarled and dry with strap-shaped branches.
Whether or not the spores of Ramariopsis tortuosa are truly smooth cannot be ascertained at x2250, where they still appear smooth. The dextrinoid reaction is so weak as to be unobservable, except where several spores overlap. Some areas of the outer subhymenium or old crushed basidia seem also to show a weak dextrinoid reaction in IKI.

North Island: WKR, vic. Forestry Headquarters, 21.vi.81, coll. RHP, no. 42436 (holotype, PDD; isotype, TENN).