Dead Man's Finger

Order: Xylariales
Family: Xylariaceae
Genus: Xylaria
Species: X. polymorpha

Identifying Characteristics:

- Elongated upright, club-shaped, resembling burned wood, occasionally flattened

- Found with a multiple of separate "digits" but sometimes the "digits" will fuse together

- Dark fruiting body-- often black or brown, but sometimes it can be shades of blue/green

- White on the inside, with a blackened dotted area all around

- 3-10 cm tall; up to 2.5 cm across

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Special Adaptations:

- Plant pathogen

- Common inhabitant of forest and woodland areas, usually growing from the bases of rotting or injured tree stumps and decaying wood

- It has also been known to colonize substrates like woody legume pods and herbaceous stems

- The spore distribution is a lengthy process, sometimes taking several months to complete this part of the life cycle