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Dead Man's Fingers - Xylaria polymorpha Sadly, this photo is blurry. But, I&#039;m sharing it because it shows a cross section of the fruiting body. The little black dots around the edges are called perithecia.  The perithcia have a layer of asci, which contain the ascospores.<br />
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Habitat: Growing on the ground in a mixed forest - probably on buried wood.<br />
<figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73895/dead_mans_fingers_-_xylaria_polymorpha.html" title="Dead Man&#039;s Fingers - Xylaria polymorpha"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3232/73895_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1763596810&Signature=6w6VhttTUQO1vUJbTzzfwd%2FUwdU%3D" width="122" height="152" alt="Dead Man&#039;s Fingers - Xylaria polymorpha Habitat: Growing on the ground in a mixed forest - probably on buried wood.<br />
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73896/dead_mans_fingers_-_xylaria_polymorpha.html Fall,Geotagged,United States,Xylaria polymorpha,dead man&#039;s fingers,fungus,xylaria" /></a></figure><br />
 Fall,Geotagged,United States,Xylaria polymorpha Click/tap to enlarge

Dead Man's Fingers - Xylaria polymorpha

Sadly, this photo is blurry. But, I'm sharing it because it shows a cross section of the fruiting body. The little black dots around the edges are called perithecia. The perithcia have a layer of asci, which contain the ascospores.

Habitat: Growing on the ground in a mixed forest - probably on buried wood.

Dead Man's Fingers - Xylaria polymorpha Habitat: Growing on the ground in a mixed forest - probably on buried wood.<br />
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73896/dead_mans_fingers_-_xylaria_polymorpha.html Fall,Geotagged,United States,Xylaria polymorpha,dead man's fingers,fungus,xylaria

    comments (2)

  1. Thanks for doing that, I had not expected them to look like that on the inside. Posted 6 years ago
    1. No problem! I didn't expect it either, and snapped it out of curiousity. One other interesting thing is that it snapped like a pretzel. I didn't expect it to be so crisp. Next time, I will get a clear shot! Posted 6 years ago

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"Xylaria polymorpha", commonly known as dead man's fingers, is a saprobic fungus. It is a common inhabitant of forest and woodland areas, usually growing from the bases of rotting or injured tree stumps and decaying wood.

Similar species: Xylariales
Species identified by Christine Young
View Christine Young's profile

By Christine Young

All rights reserved
Uploaded Feb 7, 2019. Captured Sep 30, 2018 12:31 in 91 Main St, Sharon, CT 06069, USA.
  • Canon EOS 80D
  • f/5.6
  • 1/64s
  • ISO400
  • 100mm