Biodiversity of the Central Coast
  • Biodiversity of the Central Coast - Home
  • About the Central Coast
    • Location
    • Communities
    • Environment >
      • Hakai Institute weather stations and webcams
    • Visitors
  • Species Guide
    • Plants >
      • Woody Vascular Plants >
        • Trees
        • Shrubs
      • Non-woody Vascular Plants >
        • Wildflowers
        • Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes
        • Ferns, Horsetails, Clubmosses, and more
      • Non-vascular Plants >
        • Mosses and Liverworts
        • Lichens
    • Fungi and Slime Molds
    • Seaweeds (Algae) and Seagrasses >
      • Red Seaweeds
      • Brown Seaweeds
      • Green Seaweeds
      • Seagrasses
      • All Seaweeds and Seagrasses
    • Birds >
      • Waterbirds and Shorebirds
      • Songbirds
      • Birds of Prey
      • Woodpeckers and Hummingbirds
      • Other Birds
      • All Birds
    • Land Animals >
      • Land Invertebrates
      • Amphibians and Reptiles
      • Land Mammals
    • Marine Animals >
      • Marine Invertebrates >
        • Bryozoans
        • Echinoderms
        • Cnidarians
        • Crustaceans
        • Molluscs
        • Sponges
        • Tunicates
        • Marine Worms
      • Fish
      • Marine Mammals
      • All Marine Animals
    • Species At Risk
    • All Species
  • Identification Resources
  • Research
  • Media and Links
  • Resources for Educators
  • Gallery
  • About This Site
    • Acknowledgements
    • Contact and Contribute

Carbon antlers, candlesnuff fungus • Xylaria hypoxylon

Carbon antlers (Xylaria hypoxylon)
Carbon antlers (Xylaria hypoxylon)
Photos by Christina Munck
Identification
This fungus produces forked, antler-shaped fruiting bodies that grow 4-8 cm tall on a thin stalk. These tough, upright "antlers" are often two-toned: the lower portion is black, while the upper portion is covered in powdery white asexual spores (conidia). Once the spores disperse the top portion turns black. Young fruiting bodies are initially unforked.
Click here for photos of different stages.

Habitat & Range
Carbon antlers grow on dead wood, such as rotting logs and stumps, throughout North America. Fruiting bodies grow during different times of the year in different regions. 

Similar Species
Some coral mushrooms, such as Clavaria species, can produce similarly slender, forked fruiting bodies; these fungi have a fleshy texture, however, instead of the woody, tough texture of carbon antlers. Dead man's fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) produces thicker, finger-like clubs.

iNaturalist
​https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/55267-Xylaria-hypoxylon

References
Gibson, I. Xylaria hypoxylon (L.) Grev. In Klinkenberg, Brian (Editor). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 21/09/2015.
Lincoff, G. H. The Audubon Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, P. 376.

Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2015).
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture