What does dead man’s fingers look like? The most recognizable form of dead man’s fingers is black and club-shaped with a white interior. It appears as solitary or clustered irregularly-shaped “fingers” about 1½ to 4 inches tall, growing on or near dead or dying wood. Dead man's fingers is the sexual reproductive structure of the fungus Xylaria. Sexual spores (called ascospores) are produced inside each club-like “finger” and released through a tiny hole in the top. The “fingers” can release these spores for several months or years.
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