''Xylaria'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of ascomycetous fungi commonly found growing on

dead wood ''Dead Wood'' is a 2007 British horror film, written, produced and directed by Richard Stiles and David Bryant and starring Emily Juniper, Fergus March, Rebecca Craven, Nina Kwok and John Samuel Worsey with Bryant appearing in a small role. ''D ...

. The name comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''xýlon'' meaning ''wood'' (see

xylem Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem. The basic function of xylem is to transport water from roots to stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients. The word ''xylem'' is derived from ...

). Two of the common species of the genus are ''

Xylaria hypoxylon ''Xylaria hypoxylon'' is a species of fungus in the family Xylariaceae. It is known by a variety of common names, such as the candlestick fungus, the candlesnuff fungus, carbon antlers, or the stag's horn fungus. The fruit bodies, characterize ...

'' and ''

Xylaria polymorpha ''Xylaria polymorpha'', commonly known as dead man's fingers, is a saprobic fungus. It is a common inhabitant of forest and woodland areas, usually growing from the bases of rotting or injured tree stumps and decaying wood. It has also been know ...

''. ''

'', known by the common names stag's horn and candle-snuff fungus, is the most conspicuous because of its erect, 3–7 cm tall, antler-like ascocarps (fruitbodies) which are black at the base (where the

perithecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mos ...

are embedded) but white and branched towards the top, where the fruiting bodies produce white conidia (asexual spores). ''

'', dead man's fingers, often grows in finger-like clusters from the base of a tree or from wood just below ground level. This is a primary fungus utilized in the

spalting Spalting is any form of wood coloration caused by fungi. Although primarily found in dead trees, spalting can also occur in living trees under stress. Although spalting can cause weight loss and strength loss in the wood, the unique coloration and ...

of sugar maple and other hardwoods. '' Xylaria longipes'', known by the common name dead moll's fingers, allegedly improves the quality of the wood used in string instruments. It has not been linked to spalting of maple.

Species

'' *'' Xylaria hypsipoda'' *'' Xylaria intracolorata'' *'' Xylaria intraflava'' *'' Xylaria jaliscoensis'' *'' Xylaria jolyana'' *'' Xylaria jiangsuensis'' – China *'' Xylaria kamatii'' *'' Xylaria karsticola'' *'' Xylaria kaumanae'' *'' Xylaria kretzschmarioidea'' *'' Xylaria lechatii'' *'' Xylaria lepidota'' *'' Xylaria liquidambaris'' *'' Xylaria longipes'' *'' Xylaria louisii'' *'' Xylaria luteostromata'' *'' Xylaria macrospora'' *'' Xylaria magniannulata'' *'' Xylaria magnoliae'' *'' Xylaria maitlandii'' *''

Xylaria mali ''Xylaria mali'' is a plant pathogen that causes black rot on apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ...

'' *'' Xylaria maraca'' *'' Xylaria maumeei'' *''

Xylaria meliacearum ''Xylaria'' is a genus of ascomycetous fungi commonly found growing on dead wood. The name comes from the Greek ''xýlon'' meaning ''wood'' (see xylem). Two of the common species of the genus are '' Xylaria hypoxylon'' and ''Xylaria polymorpha' ...

'' *'' Xylaria mellissii'' *'' Xylaria memecyli'' *'' Xylaria mesenterica'' *'' Xylaria mexicana'' *'' Xylaria michoacana'' *'' Xylaria microceras'' *'' Xylaria minuta'' *'' Xylaria moelleroclavus'' *'' Xylaria moliwensis'' *'' Xylaria monstrosa'' *'' Xylaria montagnei'' *'' Xylaria mornandii'' *'' Xylaria multipartita'' *'' Xylaria multiplex'' *'' Xylaria musooriensis'' *'' Xylaria mycelioides'' *'' Xylaria myosurus'' *'' Xylaria myrosimila'' *'' Xylaria nigromedullosa'' *'' Xylaria obovata'' *'' Xylaria ochraceostroma'' *'' Xylaria opulenta'' *'' Xylaria oxyacanthae'' *'' Xylaria palmicola'' *'' Xylaria papulis'' *'' Xylaria papyrifera'' *'' Xylaria paulistana'' *'' Xylaria perezsilvae'' *'' Xylaria petchii'' *'' Xylaria pisoniae'' *'' Xylaria platypoda'' *'' Xylaria plumbea'' *''

'' *'' Xylaria polyramosa'' *'' Xylaria polytricha'' *'' Xylaria ponapeana'' *'' Xylaria potentillae'' *'' Xylaria praefecta'' *'' Xylaria primorskensis'' *'' Xylaria psamathos'' *'' Xylaria pseudoapiculata'' *'' Xylaria psidii'' *'' Xylaria pterula'' *'' Xylaria punjabensis'' *'' Xylaria queenslandica'' *'' Xylaria quercinophila'' *'' Xylaria ramosa'' *'' Xylaria ramus'' *'' Xylaria reperta'' *'' Xylaria reticulata'' *'' Xylaria rhopaloides'' *'' Xylaria rimulata'' *'' Xylaria rosea'' *'' Xylaria salonensis'' *'' Xylaria sanchezii'' *'' Xylaria scabriclavula'' *'' Xylaria schreuderiana'' *'' Xylaria scopiformis'' *'' Xylaria semiglobosa'' – China *'' Xylaria sibirica'' *'' Xylaria sicula'' *'' Xylaria sphaerica'' – China *'' Xylaria squamulosa'' *'' Xylaria stilbohypoxyloides'' *'' Xylaria stromafera'' *'' Xylaria subcoccophora'' *'' Xylaria symploci'' *'' Xylaria tanganyikaensis'' *'' Xylaria tectonae'' *'' Xylaria tenuispora'' *'' Xylaria terminaliae-bellericae'' *'' Xylaria terminaliae-crenulatae'' *'' Xylaria thailandica'' – southern Thailand *'' Xylaria theissenii'' *'' Xylaria thindii'' *'' Xylaria tischeri'' *'' Xylaria tolosa'' *'' Xylaria tuberiformis'' *'' Xylaria tucumanensis'' *'' Xylaria tumulosa'' *'' Xylaria umbonata'' *'' Xylaria uniapiculata'' *'' Xylaria vaporaria'' *'' Xylaria vasconica'' *'' Xylaria wellingtonensis'' *'' Xylaria wulaiensis'' *'' Xylaria zealandica''

Gallery

Image:Xylaria hypoxylon.jpg, ''X. hypoxylon'' Image:Xylaria longipes Edinburg.jpg, ''X. polymorpha'' Image:Xylaria_polymorpha_(variability).jpg, ''X. polymorpha'' illustrating the range of shapes of fruiting bodies. Image:Xylaria_polymorpha_(split_ascocarp).jpg, A longitudinally split fruiting body of ''X. polymorpha'', showing the many

that lie just beneath the black outer rind. File:Deadmansfingers Jul-3-2009.jpg, ''X. polymorpha'' in early July

References

*Deacon, J. ''Fungal Biology''. Blackwell Publishing. 2005. *Robinson, S. C. and P. E. Laks. 2010. Culture age and wood species affect zone line production of ''Xylaria polymorpha''. ''The Open Mycology Journal'' 4:18-21. *Robinson, S. C., et al. 2012. Promoting fungal pigment formation in wood by utilizing a modified decay jar method. ''Wood Science and Technology'' 46:841-849. *Robinson, S. C., et al. Methods of inoculating ''Acer'' spp., ''Populus tremuloides'', and ''Fagus grandifolia'' logs for commercial spalting applications. ''Journal of Wood Science'' in press. doi:10.1007/s10086-013-1335-5 {{Taxonbar, from=Q1625602 Sordariomycetes genera Xylariales

Species

Gallery

See also

References