[1] It forms branched, cylindrical, ochre fruit bodies that grow on the ground in agriculturally unimproved grassland or in woodland litter.

[3] Initial molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, indicates that C. corniculata is part of a complex of related species.

[2] The fruit body of C. corniculata is ochre to deep yellow, up to 8 centimetres (3 in) tall,[4] typically branched two or three times, with a distinct, often paler stem.

[5] In Europe, Clavulinopsis umbrinella is a similarly shaped species in the same habitat, but is typically pale brown without yellowish tints.

In America and Asia it grows in woodland, but in Europe it generally occurs in agriculturally unimproved, short-sward grassland (pastures and lawns), from July to November.