Dead man’s fingers / Autumn / Winter / Inedible

Christine, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Svencapoeira, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) is a striking and slightly eerie fungus that earns its name from its unusual appearance. Found growing on decaying hardwood, particularly around tree stumps and buried roots, this fungus resembles blackened, finger-like shapes emerging from the forest floor. While it’s not specifically rated as an edible, its unique look and ecological role make it a fascinating find for anyone exploring UK woodlands.

Appearing year-round, but most visible in autumn and winter, Dead Man’s Fingers plays an important role in breaking down dead wood and recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

In this piece, we’ll explore how to identify this spooky fungus, where to find it, and why it’s an essential part of the forest floor.

Scientific Name

Xylaria polymorpha

Common Names

Dead mans finger

Family

Xylariaceae

Habitat

Dead man’s fingers is a saprobic fungus specialising in consuming the polysaccharides in timber which leaves soft, nutrient-rich debris on which many invertebrates feed. So found on or near (and connected) to the stumps of dead beech trees and sometimes other broad-leaved tree stumps.

Description

They are fairly common in the UK and they can also be found worldwide. A great site to see especially around Halloween.

Identifying Features of Dead man’s fingers:

Looking like badly bruised and swollen fingers they often appear in groups looking very much like hands. Individual ‘fingers’ technically called stromata can be really variable in shape and size, but generally around 3–10 cm tall and 1–4 cm wide. It is more or less cylindrical to club -shaped. When young they are pale grey with a whitish tip, getting darker with age. The pale covering (conidia) is a coating of asexual spores produced in the early stage of their development. The stroma‘s surface is covered with tiny pores (perithecia) which release the spores but they cannot be detected by the naked eye.

Stem:

A small stalk attaches the fruiting ‘finger’ to the dead wood.

Smell:

No distinctive smell.

Spores:

Black

Uses

In food

Not classed as toxic but very tough and unappetising.

Medicinal Uses of Dead man’s fingers

In traditional Indian medicine, this fungus is used dried, powdered and mixed with sugar to promote lactation after childbirth.

Known hazards

No known hazards.

Dead man’s fingers Potential lookalikes…

Dead Moll’s fingers (Xylaria longipes) is similar but slimmer, smaller and less robust and they occur most often on the stumps and fallen branches of sycamore trees.