Is this the creepiest fungi in the forest? Yes, certainly.
Dead guy's fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) emerging from a rotten log in Morgantown, West Virginia. Matt Kasson
The very best Halloween decors often come straight from nature. Complex spider webs, huge pumpkins, and a fungi that may stop you dead in your tracks. Typically called dead guy's fingers, Xylaria polymorpha can appear like rotting zombie fingers. This and other comparable sinister-looking fungis in the genus Xylaria can be discovered throughout the United States.
"It may release the misconception that there's a dead body, emerging from the leaf litter, however these Xylaria fungis are wood associated," West Virginia University mycologist Matt Kasson informs Popular Science"They're saprotrophs, which implies th...