This Creepy-Looking Fungus Known as "Dead Man's Fingers"

Over the years this morbid-looking fungus has acquired many other scientific names (synonyms) including Hypoxylon polymorphum, (Pers.) Mont., Xylaria corrugata Har. & Pat., Xylaria obovata (Berk.) Berk., and Xylaria rugosa Sacc. Its currently accepted name Xylaria polymorpha dates from 1824, when Scottish mycologist and illustrator Robert Kaye Greville (1794 - 1866) transferred it to the genus Xylaria.