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The mushroom kingdom is diverse and you can find amazing specimens in it. Xylaria long-legged is an unusual and frightening mushroom, it is not for nothing that the people call it “dead man’s fingers”. But there is nothing mystical in it: the original elongated shape and dark color with light tips resemble a human hand sticking out of the ground.
What do xylaria long-legged look like
Another name for this species is polymorphic. The body does not have a clear division into a stem and a cap. It can reach a height of 8 cm, but usually grows small – up to 3 cm. It does not exceed 2 cm in diameter, the body is formed narrow and elongated.
It has a club-shaped shape with a slight thickening in the upper part, it can be mistaken for a tree branch. Young specimens are light gray, with age the color darkens and turns completely black. Small shoots on the ground are difficult to notice.
Over time, the surface of the fruiting body also changes. It is covered with scales and cracks. Spores are small, spindle-shaped.
Another type of xylaria is distinguished – diverse. It differs in that several processes depart from one fruiting body at once, hard to the touch and rough, resembling wood. Inside the pulp consists of fibers and is colored white. It is quite tough, so it is not eaten.
The young fruit body is covered with asexual spores of purple, gray or light blue. Only the tips remain free from spores, retaining a whitish color.
The upper part of the fruiting body is slightly lighter in adulthood. Xylaria long-legged can become covered with warts over time. Small holes appear in the cap for ejection of spores.
Where do xylaria long-legged grow
It belongs to saprophytes, therefore it grows on stumps, logs, rotten deciduous trees, branches. Representatives of this species are especially fond of fragments of maple and beech.
Long-legged xylaria grow in groups, but there are also single specimens. This type of fungus can cause gray mold in plants. In the climate, it actively grows from May to November. Appears in forests, less often on the edges.
The first descriptions of xylaria long-legged are found in 1797. Before that, there was a single mention that the parishioners of one English church found terrible mushrooms in the cemetery. They looked like the fingers of the dead, black and twisted, crawling out of the ground. Mushroom shoots were everywhere – on stumps, trees, ground. Such a sight frightened people so much that they refused to enter the cemetery.
The churchyard was soon closed and abandoned. Such a spectacle is easy to explain from a scientific point of view. Xylaria long-legged actively grows on stumps, rotten and dilapidated wood. May form at the roots of deciduous trees. They are found all over the world. In some regions, the first xylaria long-legged appear already in early spring.
Is it possible to eat xylaria long-legged
Xylaria long-legged is an inedible species. Even after long cooking, the pulp is very tough and difficult to chew.
Mushrooms of this species do not differ in any taste or smell. During cooking, they attract insects – this must be taken into account if you want to experiment.
In traditional medicine, a substance used to create diuretics is isolated from xylaria. Scientists plan to use these fruiting bodies to develop drugs for oncology.
Conclusion
Xylaria long-legged has an unusual color and shape. At dusk, mushroom shoots can be mistaken for tree branches or gnarled fingers. This species is not poisonous, but is not used for food. In nature, these representatives of the fungal kingdom perform a special function: they accelerate the process of decay of trees and stumps.
