Happy Halloween: Dead Man’s Fingers

by Tim Burris, Mariton Preserve Manager

Rising from the earth…grasping a branch.

I was splitting some firewood this morning and found this fungus know as Dead Man’s Fingers (perhaps Xylaria polymorpha).  It is often found poking out of the ground at the base of rotting tree stumps.  Perhaps you can see the similarity?  Below is a photo that Carole Mebus took during one of our Nature Camps.

A well named fungus.