candlestick fungus

Description:

Fruit bodies (ascocarps) are cylindrical or flattened with dimensions of 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in) tall × 2–8 mm thick. The erect ascocarps are often twisted or bent, and typically sparsely branched, often in a shape resembling an antler's horns. Specimens found earlier in the season, in spring, may be covered completely in asexual spores (conidia), which manifests itself as a white to grayish powdery deposit. Later in the season, mature ascocarps are charcoal-black, and have minute pimple-like bumps called perithecia on the surface. These are minute rounded spore bearing structures with a tiny holes, or ostioles, for the release of sexual spores (ascospores). The perithecia are embedded in the flesh of the ascocarp, the stroma, which is tough, elastic, and white. Within the perithecia, the asci are 100 × 8 µm are sometimes used for similar reasons. --Initially all classified in the genus Clavaria, they were later split out into many genera including Clavicorona, Clavulina, Clavulinopsis, Macrotyphula, Ramaria and Ramariopsis. --Some superficially similar species are not so closely related; the fairy club genus Clavariadelphus, Ramaria and Clavulina belong to the family Gomphaceae, Lentaria belongs in the Thelephorales order, while the genus Calocera is an entirely different organism of the class Dacrymycetes

Habitat:

Xylaria hypoxylon is an inedible species of fungus in the genus Xylaria. 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, characterized by erect, elongated black branches with whitened tips, typically grow in clusters on decaying hardwood. The fungus can cause a root rot in hawthorn and gooseberry plants

Notes:

the most important referenz was from the eol link: http://eol.org/pages/1017301/overview the second picture, have found similar picture but this one is the clearest. the xylaria can be doubt because here are almost no horns, but it can be a young one, which has to grow one. the other specien from the xylaria fam. would be to big. the xylaria longipes are a little big thinner than a little finger and the X.polymorpha is even bigger than the longipes. therefore: i tend to say it is the X.hypoxylon.