100 Species #54: Dead man's fingers

[urbpan]

This dead man's fingers fungus (Xylaria polymorpha) emerged from the well around a basement window. This revealed to us the presence of an old stump. Strange place for a tree to grow.

Dead man's fingers is a wood-digesting fungus that is variable in appearance (thus the scientific name). The fruiting bodies are always thick and more or less finger-like, sometimes fused into a hand-like group, sometimes separate and more elongated. This time of year the mushroom is coated with blue-green asexual spores (conidia). They persist through the summer into fall, developing sexually produced spores as well.

Dead man's fingers appeared in this blog previously as 365 urban species #181.

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

OMG THAT IS THE MOST TERRIFYING FUNGUS I HAVE EVER SEEN D:

[elizaeffect.livejournal.com]

OMG SERIOUSLY. Some of these things are so aptly named it's scary.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

sure that wasn't a rapture related event? :)

i found the most marvelous jelly thing the other day, candy bar sized, brown like beer glass, and all jello like. disturbing but neat.

#

[plantmom.livejournal.com]

Wow, just wow.

[rudbekia.livejournal.com]

I love it when you bring to our attention something that has such an appropriate name. Dead Man's Fingers! Dog Vomit slime mold! What else ya got?

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

here via asakiyume...

I would totally do a double--nay a triple!--take if I so those wee digits poking from the earth.

Morbid. And extremely cool.

Via asakiyume

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

AIEEEEEE!

It reminds me of cracked.com's Creepiest Plants Ever that had some Chinese root shaped exactly like a creepy human doll. Actually, maybe that was faked. I don't know, I was too creeped out to look for more images.