Maryland Biodiversity Project - Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)

Dead Man's Fingers Xylaria polymorpha (Persoon) Greville

Kingdom Fungi > Phylum Ascomycota > Class Sordariomycetes > Order Xylariales > Family Xylariaceae > Genus Xylaria Dead Man's Fingers - Xylaria polymorpha - https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/11730

Description:

Fruiting body: White when young (asexual stage), black in age (sexual stage). Irregularly club/spindle-shaped; finely roughened and cracked in age; flesh white, fibrous, tough. Spores have a straight slit running 1/2 to 2/3 their length (J. Solem, pers. comm.).

Where to find:

Usually dense clusters on decaying hardwood stumps (J. Solem, pers. comm.).

Records:

There are 44 records in the project database.

Links:

View taxon at MycoBank

View taxon at iNaturalist

View taxon at NatureServe

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Seasonality:

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Dead Man's Fingers in Howard Co., Maryland (7/31/2010). (Photo ID: 8488 - Psn: 10)

Dead Man's Fingers in Howard Co., Maryland (7/31/2010). Photo by Bonnie Ott. (MBP list)

Dead Man's Fingers (deteriorating fruiting bodies) in Howard Co., Maryland (1/9/2018). (Photo ID: 106823 - Psn: 40)

Dead Man's Fingers (deteriorating fruiting bodies) in Howard Co., Maryland (1/9/2018). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Dead Man's Fingers in Howard Co., Maryland (1/9/2018). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/'>CC BY-NC</a>). (Photo ID: 361178 - Psn: 50)

Dead Man's Fingers in Howard Co., Maryland (1/9/2018). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Dead Man's Fingers in Frederick Co., Maryland (5/12/2018). (c) annagypsy, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/'>CC BY-NC-SA</a>). (Photo ID: 236555 - Psn: 66)

Dead Man's Fingers in Frederick Co., Maryland (5/12/2018). (c) annagypsy, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA). Photo by annagypsy via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Dead Man's Fingers spores collected in Howard Co., Maryland (1/9/2018). Fusiform (one side flattened), smooth, dark w/ germ slit running 1/2-2/3 length of spore; measured 23.0 – 29.0 X 6.9 – 8.0 microns. Photo by Robert Solem. (MBP list)

Spores of Dead Man's Fingers in Howard Co., Maryland (1/9/2018). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/'>CC BY-NC</a>). (Photo ID: 361180 - Psn: 105)

Spores of Dead Man's Fingers in Howard Co., Maryland (1/9/2018). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Dead Man's Fingers in Frederick Co., Maryland (5/21/2018). (c) botanygirl, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'>CC BY</a>). (Photo ID: 236689 - Psn: 200)

Dead Man's Fingers in Frederick Co., Maryland (5/21/2018). (c) botanygirl, some rights reserved (CC BY). Photo by botanygirl via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

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