Species details
Candlesnuff fungus
Xylaria hypoxylon
Inedible
Photo: Arvel Hernandez · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A slender black wood fungus, often antler-like and branched, with whitish powdered tips when young.
Identification features
Fruitbodies are about 2–8 cm tall, slender, upright and often forked. The lower part is black, while young tips are whitish to grey and powdery.
Identification checklist
Key clues are thin branched black fruitbodies on wood and whitish powdered tips in young specimens.
Habitat
Grows saprobically on decaying hardwood, stumps and buried branches from spring to late autumn.
Fruiting period
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Ecology
- Trophic mode
- Saprotrophic
- Substrate
- Dead wood, Stumps, Buried wood
- Notes
- Grows saprobically on decaying hardwood, stumps and buried branches from spring to late autumn.
How to separate similar species
Clavulina grows from soil, is more brittle and lacks the black woody base. Xylaria polymorpha is much thicker.
Similar species
- Dead man's fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)
- Clavulina species
- Xylaria species