Dead man's Fingers - Xylaria polymorpha

In woodland at the Ponderosa Park, Sheffield, 4/8/11.

I was fairly confident that these were Xylaria polymorpha and not X. longipes from the stoutness and general appearance. But I've checked other mycologist's IDs on occasion, and found that what they ID-ed as X. polymorpha was X. longipes. It's easy to scrape a bit of the black surface with a Stanley knife blade onto a slide and look at the spores. X. polymorpha are clearly larger. Even in these specimens, with ascospores still transparent and immature, they measured over 20 microns (see inset, scale at 10 microns). X. longipes just go up to 16 or so.

It's interesting that all our records of X. longipes are from the past 4 years, whereas X. polymporpha was the only one recorded before this.

X. longipes is common on Sycamore in the Sorby area, we have 18 records for the past 4 years compared to 71 X. polymorpha over decades.

Either X. longipes is a recent species, or the X. polymorpha records include X. longipes as well.

 

These are abridged records

Genus/species English name Date Site

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers08 September 2007Cressbrook Dale

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers25 January 2008Owler Bar, Smeekley Wood

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers11 January 2009Treeton Woods

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers17 February 2009Gleadless Valley, Carr Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers18 March 2009Gleadless Valley, Carr Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers26 April 2009Cressbrook Dale

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers26 September 2009Moss Valley

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers28 September 2009Graves Park, Sheffield

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers08 October 2009Gleadless Valley, Coneygree Wood

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers11 October 2009Gen Cemetery, Sheffield

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers21 October 2009Cressbrook Dale

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers01 November 2009Hutcliffe Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers25 November 2009Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria longipesDead Molls's Fingers10 February 2010Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers26 September 2010Limb Valley

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers10 October 2010Gen Cemetery, Sheffield

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers28 October 2010Gleadless Valley, Carr Wood

Xylaria longipesDead Moll's Fingers07 November 2010Shirtcliffe Wood, Woodhouse

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers1970 - 1995Limb Valley, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's FingersSEP 1974 - OCT 1974Limb Valley, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers01 October 1978Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers21 September 1980Limb Valley, Porter Clough

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers17 May 1981Beeley Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers1982Ladies Spring Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers25 April 1987Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers18 July 1988Winster, Oddo

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's FingersUp to 9/88Ladybower, Grimbocarr Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers29 September 1991Moss Valley, Ford

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers30 September 1991Linacre

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers19 April 1993Haddon Hall, Haddon Park (RN1- Riverside Plantations- North)

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers25 May 1993Haddon Hall, Haddon Park (RN1- Riverside Plantations- North)

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers05 October 1993Darley Bridge, Cowley Knowl

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers03 September 1994Longshaw

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers30 October 1994Anston Stones Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers28 January 1995Lathkill, DERBYSHIRE

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers-1997Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers12 October 2001Clay Wood & Cholera Monument

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers14 October 2001Bowden Housteads Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers26 October 2003Woolley Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers01 November 2003Bowden Housteads Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers18 September 2004Great Roe Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers26 September 2004Woolley Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers12 October 2004Gen Cemetery, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers16 October 2004Bowden Housteads Wood N of Parkway

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers30 October 2004Waterthorpe, Westfield Plantation

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's FingersAutumn 2005Meltham, nr Holmfirth, Blackmoorfoot (east bank)

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers15 October 2005Clay Wood & Cholera Monument

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers22 October 2005Bowden Housteads Wood N of Parkway

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers29 October 2005Moss Valley Woodlands LNR

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers08 October 2006Bowden Housteads Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers06 January 2007Hutcliffe Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers10 November 2007Waterthorpe, Westfield Plantation

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers14 January 2008Gen Cemetery, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers06 April 2008Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers13 April 2008Old Spring Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers09 May 2008Porter Valley, Wire Mill Dam

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers03 June 2008Gen Cemetery, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers05 June 2008Sharrow, Empire Rd

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers07 June 2008Meersbrook, Woodbank Community Garden, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers14 September 2008Limb Valley, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers12 October 2008Gen Cemetery, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers19 October 2008Ladybower

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers06 March 2009Meersbrook, 103 Meersbrook Park Rd

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers21 March 2009Great Shacklow Wood, Ashford-in-the-Water

Xylaria polymorphaDead Mans Fingers05 July 2009Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers20 July 2009Lynwood Gardens, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers07 August 2009Gleadless Valley, Coneygree Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers12 August 2009Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers19 August 2009Fairholmes

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers22 August 2009Brincliffe Edge Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers25 August 2009Meersbrook, Upper Albert Rd

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers11 October 2009Gen Cemetery, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man’s Fingers 21 October 2009Norfolk Park, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers01 November 2009Hutcliffe Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers07 November 2009Woodseats, Bolehill Woods, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Mans Fingers22 November 2009Padley, Yarncliffe Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Mans Fingers29 December 2009Ecclesall Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Mans Fingers17 June 2010Northern General Hospital, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Mans Fingers15 July 2010Gleadless Valley, Carr Wood

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers30 August 2010Grindleford

Xylaria polymorphaDead Mans Fingers14 September 2010Clay Woods

Xylaria polymorphaDead Mans Fingers24 September 2010Meersbrook, Upper Albert Rd

Xylaria polymorphaDead man’s Fingers 07 October 2010Norfolk Park, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers10 October 2010Gen Cemetery, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorphaDead Man's Fingers07 November 2010Shirtcliffe Wood, Woodhouse

Xylaria polymorpha Dead Man's Fingerspre1993Potteric Carr

Xylaria polymorpha Dead Man's Fingers06 July 1998Woolley Wood, Sheffield

Xylaria polymorpha Dead Man's Fingers11 January 2009Treeton Woods

Xylaria polymorpha (longipes?)Dead Man's Fingers?10 November 1995Linacre Wood, Chesterfield

 

 

Done