| Xylaria | |
|---|---|
| Xylaria hypoxylon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Order: | Xylariales |
| Family: | Xylariaceae |
| Genus: | Xylaria |
| Species | |
Xylaria is a genus of ascomycetous fungi commonly found growing on dead wood. The name comes from the Greek xýlon meaning wood (see xylem).
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", often grows in finger-like clusters from the base of a tree or from wood just below ground level.
Xylaria longipes, also known under the common names "Dead Moll's 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.
FUNGAL BIOLOGY, A Textbook by JIM DEACON, Blackwell Publishing 2005 Information from supplementary website at: