![]() ![]() ![]() There is a tiny pore-like hole in the top of each perithecium, and when the asci explode and eject their spores this is their exit route to the great world outside. Near the surface are spore-producing cavities known as perithecia - visible in this picture as black dots against the white background. The surface is initially white or greyish and covered in a fine pallid powder (conidia) during the asexual stage, later becoming slightly granulated and darkening through brown to black, sometimes with greenish or bluish tinges.Īs seen on the left, inside the communal fruitbody known as a stroma (plural stromata) the flesh is white it is quite Identification guideĭiameter and are usually between 3 and 8cm long when fully developed. If you compare the light blue 'Dead Man's Fingers' with those in the picture at the top of this page, I think you will readily accept that this was hardly a stupid mistake but quite understandable. Several of them were given separate binomial scientific names for each of these stages, because they were thought to be quite different species. Many of the fungi whose lifecycles include both asexual (via conidiospores) and sexual (via either ascospores or basidiospores caused great confusion in the early days of fungal taxonomy. The pictures were taken in Wisconsin and in Illinois. The beatiful specimens of Xylaria polymorpha shown above and immediately below are at the conidial (asexual) spore-producing stage, when the 'fingers' often turn pale blue. The brownish Dead Man's Fingers shown on the left are in between the asexual and sexual reproductive phases of this ascomycetous fungus. Polymorpha means, literally, in many shapes.Ĭoncealed beneath those surface bumps are roundish chambers lined with spore-producing structures known as asci - hence these fungi belong to the phylum Ascomycota, the largest (by species numbers) section of the fungal kingdom.ĭead Man's Finger's is not generally considered to be an edible fungus. Its currently accepted name Xylaria polymorpha dates from 1824, when Scottish mycologist and illustrator Robert Kaye Greville (1794 - 1866) transferred it to the genus Xylaria.Ī close-up picture of the surface of an adult fruitbody is shown above, and its granular form is clearly evident however, the specific epithet polymorpha comes not from the variable surface texture but from the many and varied forms that these fruitbodies can take. & Pat., Xylaria obovata ( Berk.) Berk., and Xylaria rugosa Sacc. Over the years this morbid-looking fungus has acquired many other scientific names (synonyms) including Hypoxylon polymorphum, ( Pers.) Mont., Xylaria corrugata Har. The basionym (original scientific name) Sphaeria polymorpha was given to this ascomycetous fungus in 1797 by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. Known as 'flask fungi', these black compound fruitbodies are difficult to spot in dark woodlands.Ī fairly common species in Britain and Ireland, Xylaria polymorpha is found also throughout mainland Europe and in many parts of North America. Often appearing in palmate bunches, the stromata comprise white infertile finger-like forms with a black coating containing the flasks within which the asci (singular ascus) produce their spores. Dead Man's Fingers is a very apt common name for thisĭull-looking species, which usually arises in tufts of three to sixįingers that are often bent and give the impression of arthritic black Xylaria polymorpha appears throughout the year at the base of beechwood stumps and Phylum: Ascomycota - Class: Sordariomycetes - Order: Xylariales - Family: Xylariaceaeĭistribution - Taxonomic History - Etymology - Identification - Reference Sources ![]()
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