{"id":25770,"date":"2023-10-12T14:24:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T18:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=25770"},"modified":"2026-04-17T14:40:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:40:27","slug":"dead-mans-fingers-purdue-landscape-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/dead-mans-fingers-purdue-landscape-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Dead Man\u2019s Fingers-Purdue Landscape Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Purdue Landscape Report<\/a>: Dead man\u2019s fingers is an apt moniker for a gruesome-looking fungus (Xylaria polymorpha<\/em>\u00a0and related species) that produces club-shaped fungal fruiting bodies that appear as fingers growing around the base of dying or dead woody plants and even wooden objects in soil (Fig. 1).\u00a0 With more than 25 species of Xylaria, generalizations are difficult to make (Fig. 2), but we will persevere anyways, recognizing that some\u00a0Xylaria\u00a0<\/em>species are limited to a saprophytic existence decomposing wood (like\u00a0X. polymorpha<\/em>) while others, like\u00a0X. mali<\/em>, cause an opportunistic black root rot on apple and crabapple (Rogers, 1984; Rogers and Callen, 1986) or nothing at all (Fig. 2). Other\u00a0Xylaria<\/em>\u00a0species infect Norway maple, honey-locust, elm and pears (flowering and edible).\u00a0 Perhaps the scariest thing about dead man\u2019s fingers is its taxonomy:\u00a0X. polymorpha<\/em>\u00a0is an extremely variable and complicated species showing \u201cmultiple interfaces and intergradations with numerous other taxa\u201d making speciation a challenge (Lee et al, 2000), which may explain why a crabapple with a bad graft union covered in dead man\u2019s fingers looks otherwise healthy!<\/p>\n

\"Dead<\/a>

Figure 1. Dead man\u2019s fingers is an apt moniker to describe the fruiting body of Xylaria species. Photo by Janna Beckerman.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Unknown<\/a>

Figure 2. Unknown Xylaria grown on fallen log. Photo by Janna Beckerman.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Symptoms and Signs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Symptoms of infection by Xylaria may appear as stress and decline, including slowed growth, dieback, premature autumn coloration and leaf drop, and even crown or structural root cankers. Apple, crabapple or pear trees infected may produce an unusually large crop of undersized fruit.<\/p>\n

\"Dead<\/a>

Figure 3a. Dead man\u2019s fingers can be found associated with otherwise healthy, asymptomatic trees, or simply growing on dead wood\u2014not necessarily causing disease.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Close-up<\/a>

3b. Close-up of the rootstock with multiple croppings of Xylaria on the crown. Photo by Janna Beckerman.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Signs of Xylaria are more readily identified\u2014namely, the dead man\u2019s fingers (Fig. 4)! The club shaped, fingerlike fruiting bodies appear singularly or as clustered \u201cfingers\u201d about\u00a0 1- 4 inches high, often at the base of infected or dying trees, or nearby large structural roots (Fig 4).\u00a0 In the spring, ascospores are produced by the \u201cfingers\u201d, creating a bluish bloom on the tips of the fingers.\u00a0Cutting into a finger reveals a white interior with black bubbles that produce the sexual spores (ascospores).\u00a0 The \u201cfingers\u201d can release these spores for several months or years.\u00a0 In the spring,\u00a0Xylaria\u00a0can produce asexual spores (called conidia) anywhere on its surface, while also producing threadlike structures (called hyphae) that grow through dead or dying wood.\u00a0\u00a0Xylaria\u00a0can survive as hyphae in roots for up to 10 years and can spread from plant to plant via hyphae when plant roots contact each other.<\/p>\n

To view this full article and other Purdue Landscape Report articles, please visit Purdue Landscape Report<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe and receive the newsletter: Purdue Landscape Report Newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Resources:
\n<\/strong>Tree Defect Identification<\/a>, The Education Store
\nTree wounds and healing<\/a>, Got Nature? Blog
\nTree Risk Management<\/a> \u2013 Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR
\nWhy Is My Tree Dying?<\/a> \u2013 Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension \u2013 Forestry and Natural Resources
\nThe Woody Plant Seed Manual<\/a>, U.S. Forest Service
\nNative Trees of the Midwest<\/a>, The Education Store
\nInvasive Species<\/a>, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
\nReport Invasive Species<\/a>, Purdue Invasive Species
\nFind an Arborist<\/a>, International Society of Arboriculture
\nSubscribe<\/a> Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Janna Beckerman<\/a>, Professor of Plant Pathology
\nPurdue Department of Botany<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purdue Landscape Report: Dead man\u2019s fingers is an apt moniker for a gruesome-looking fungus (Xylaria polymorpha\u00a0and related species) that produces club-shaped fungal fruiting bodies that appear as fingers growing around the base of dying or dead woody plants and even wooden objects in soil (Fig. 1).\u00a0 With more than 25 species of Xylaria, generalizations are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,870,42,80,49,54,622],"tags":[1861,60,1122,152,67,895,408,1862],"class_list":["post-25770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alert","category-disease","category-forestry","category-trees","category-plants","category-wildlife","category-woodlands","tag-dead-mans-fingers","tag-forestry","tag-fungus","tag-infection","tag-plants","tag-purdue-landscape-report","tag-trees","tag-xylaria","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25770"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41153,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25770\/revisions\/41153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}