Division/Phylum:  Ascomycota

Class: Ascomycetes

Order: Xylariales

Family: Xylariaceae

Common Name : Dead Man’s Fingers

Habitats: Woodland and Gully

Substrate: Dead Wood

Description: Bumpy, black, round tipped, finger like, club shaped, flask-fungus. (Fig. 1).

Club: 2-104 mm in length, 15-6 mm in diameter. Thick short dense stalk. Irregular cylindrical shape. White tough flesh (Fig. 2).

Spores: Elliptical, spore print black (Fig. 3).

 Specimens: St. Thomas; Welchman Hall,
(13^o 11.383’ N,  59^o 39.572’ W), Daniel-07-74, January-03-2007. Strong Man Gully, (13^o 13.178’ N, 59^o 31.898’ W) Daniel-07-132, March-06-2007.

St. John; Hackleton cliff, (13^o 12.304’ N, 59^o 31.727’ W), Daniel-07-98, Febuary-02-2007.

Comments: There is a stage when asexual spores are produced, during this time Xylaria polymorpha   appears white. It becomes black at maturity when it is in its sexual stage. Asexual spores are white and sexual black.  This species is inedible.

Figure 1: Xylaria polymorpha  in situ.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.