Xylaria
Xylaria hypoxylon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi Division: Ascomycota Class: Sordariomycetes Order: Xylariales Family: Xylariaceae
Species
Xylaria hypoxylon Xylaria polymorpha

Xylaria is a genus of ascomycetous fungi commonly found growing on dead wood.

Two of the common species of the genus are Xylaria hypoxylon and Xylaria polymorpha

Xylaria hypoxylon, also known under the common names "Stag's Horn" or "Candle-snuff Fungus", is the most conspicuous because of its erect 3-7 cm tall, antler-like ascocarps (fruitbodies) which are black at the base (where the perithecia are embedded) but white and branched towards the top, where the fruitbodies produce white conidia (asexual spores).

Xylaria polymorpha, "Dead Man's Fingers", is black and often grows in finger-like clusters from the base of a tree or from wood just below ground level.

Xylaria Longpipes, also known under the common names "Dead Molls Fingers" or "Pénis de bois mort" allegedly improves the quality of the wood used in string instruments, in lightening its structure, in particular that of the back usually in maple.

References

FUNGAL BIOLOGY, A Textbook by JIM DEACON, Blackwell Publishing 2005 Information from supplementary website at:

• http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/FungalBiology/xylaria.htm

Gallery

X. hypoxylon

X. polymorpha

X. polymorpha illustrating the range of shapes of fruiting bodies.

A longitudinally split fruiting body of X. polymorpha, showing the many perithecia that lie just beneath the black outer rind.

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