Identification of the Larger Fungi

by Roy Watling

Stem: lacking.

Flesh: pale grey or buff, concentrically zoned with darker purplish black layers below which are small, black dots.

Spores: very long, black, ellipsoid with one flattened side and 12-17 × 6-9 µm in size; eight contained in an elongate cylindrical ascus.

Habitat & Distribution: Common on old deciduous wood, particularly of ash and beech.

General Information: These two fungi are unrelated; the first is related to the disc-fungi, like species of Peziza, whilst Daldinia is related to the Dead man’s finger fungus. Rhizina undulata has been shown to be able to attack roots of pine or larch trees and cause death. Daldinia is a pure saprophyte rotting down wood into more simple compounds later to be incorporated into the soil-system. The common name ‘Cramp-balls’ refers to the old belief that if one of the fruit-bodies is carried in the pocket it saves the possessor from cramp and rheumatism. The other common name for the same fungus is ‘King Alfred’s cakes’. The black colour of the fruit-body is like that of charred cakes—resembling the cakes in the legend which King Alfred allowed to burn.

Illustrations: R. undulata—LH 37; NB 111⁶. D. concentrica—F 7^b; LH 47; NB 147⁷.

Xylosphaera polymorpha (Mérat) Dumortier Dead man’s fingers

Fruit-body: width 10-20 mm; length 30-60 mm.

Description:

Fruit-body: more or less club-shaped, irregularly or evenly lobed at apex, at first light brown due to development of asexually produced spores (conidia) but finally almost black.