The genus Ramaria comprises approximately 200 species of coral fungi. Several, such as Ramaria flava, are edible and picked in Europe, though they are easily confused with several mildly poisonous species capable of causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea; these include R. formosa and R. pallida. Three Ramaria species have been demonstrated to contain a very unusual organoarsenic compound homoarsenocholine.
Basidiocarps may range in color from bright yellow, red, or orange, to purple, white, and shades of tan. Color changes after bruising occur in some species.
The spores of Ramaria species are yellow-brown to rusty-brown in mass deposit and range from smooth to warted to echinulate or striate; spore size may range considerably, and ornamentation, when present, is cyanophilous.