Xylaria polymorpha (Pers. ex Mérat) Greville. Vielgestaltige Holzkeule Xilaire polymorphe, Dead Man’s Fingers. Fruit body 3–8cm high, 1–3cm wide, irregularly club-shaped passing into a short cylindrical stalk below, black with a finely wrinkled or roughened surface. Flesh tough, white; the section shows the distinctive pattern of the spore-producing cavities, the perithecia, just below the surface crust. Asci 200 x 10um. Spores blackish, fusiform, 20–32 x 5–9um. Habitat in groups on stumps, usually beech. Season all year. Common. Not edible. Distribution, America and Europe.