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Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)

picture of Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)

The Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) are mushrooms worthy of any Halloween tale.

Its a saprotrophic fungus found on dead trees and trunks around the United States. As they age, they turn a darker color, like the specimen in the picture.

They end of looking like knobby fingers ready to grab anyone who might seek a seat on a stump in the woods.

© 2009 Patricia A. Michaels