Extract from Wikipedia article: Xylaria polymorpha, commonly known as dead man's fingers, is a saprobic fungus. It is a common inhabitant of forest and woodland areas, usually growing from the bases of rotting or injured tree stumps and decaying wood. It has also been known to colonize substrates like woody legume pods, petioles, and herbaceous stems. It is characterized by its elongated upright, clavate, or strap-like stromata poking up through the ground, much like fingers. The genus Xylaria contains about 100 species of cosmopolitan fungi. Polymorpha means "many forms". As its name suggests, it has a very variable but often club-shaped fruiting body (stroma) resembling burned wood.
Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) mushroom in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, October 20, 2013 23200 Park Road, Washington, TX 77880, USA
Finely wrinkled surface texture of fruitbody of Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) mushroom taken from Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site, Texas, October 20, 2013 1700 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Clublike fruitbody of Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) mushroom taken from Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site, Texas, October 20, 2013 1700 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Whitish flesh inside a clublike fruitbody of Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) mushroom taken from Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site, Texas, October 20, 2013 1700 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) mushroom growing from a base of stump on university golf course near Texas Avenue. College Station, Texas, October 21, 2013 1207 South Texas Avenue, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) mushrooms growing near a tree stump on university golf course near Texas Avenue. College Station, Texas, October 30, 2013 1207 South Texas Avenue, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Dead man's fingers mushrooms (Xylaria polymorpha) on a fallen oak in Big Creek Scenic Area of Sam Houston National Forest. Shepherd, Texas, May 30, 2020 Lone Star Hiking Trail, Coldspring, TX 77331, USA