This Creepy-Looking Fungus Known as "Dead Man's Fingers"
Spores
Produced within structures known as asci (singular ascus), the ascospores are dark brown (when fully developed), smooth, fusiform (spindle-shaped) or banana shaped, and 20-30 x 5-9μm. (Ascomycete fungi generally have spores much larger than those of most basidiomycete species.)
Unusually, the spores shown here contain several guttules (oil-like drops) up to about 5μm in diameter, whereas most authorities refer to the spores of Xylaria polymorpha as containing commonly just one drop and sometimes none at all.
The asci are typically 200 x 10μm with eight spores in each ascus.
Produced within structures known as asci (singular ascus), the ascospores are dark brown (when fully developed), smooth, fusiform (spindle-shaped) or banana shaped, and 20-30 x 5-9μm. (Ascomycete fungi generally have spores much larger than those of most basidiomycete species.)
Unusually, the spores shown here contain several guttules (oil-like drops) up to about 5μm in diameter, whereas most authorities refer to the spores of Xylaria polymorpha as containing commonly just one drop and sometimes none at all.
The asci are typically 200 x 10μm with eight spores in each ascus.
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11 February 2023
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