Whatzit?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Wood Fungus?

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............sort of, maybe, in a forest setting........but this is a very specific one

[MartyE]

Fungus?

Now we're making gravy w/o the lumps! I knew I could count on you, Wayne!

What kind?

My ex?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Fungus?

Now we're making gravy w/o the lumps! I knew I could count on you, Wayne!

What kind?

My ex?

[chuck]

Xylaria polymorpha, commonly known as dead man's fingers

Mushrooms.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

OMG ! Never ever saw that ! Is that fa' real? ....complete with fingernails ?! I mean, if you say it is so, Chuck, then sure it is actual. But WOW ! And aptly named!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Chick once again found and matched up the photo - yup, it's Xylaria polymorpha -------> dead man's fingers.

[chuck]

It smells bad too! Like decaying flesh. A two'fer

BTW, matching the image wasn't that hard. Finding out what the image was took a lot longer. First matches were in middle eastern sites with everything in Arabic and none of it having anything to do with the fungus. Second matches were in Chinese, again nothing to do with the fungus. All were some kind of literary references, allusions, mostly poetry?. Third matches had to do with beverages! Particularly a brand of rum. The image links on these sites were long gone. Somehow I stumbled on a site in English with the image and references to the fungus. Very different/difficult search pattern.

BTBTW It's toxic, every part of it and usually lethally so.

[HONDO74]

Xylaria polymorpha, commonly known as dead man's fingers

Mushrooms.

"commonly known as dead man's fingers" Like a zombie rising from the dead.....

[rogruth]

Where is this stuff found?

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Middle East?

[chuck]

Where is this stuff found?

"Dead man's fingers are attracted to dead apple, maple, beech, elm, and locust trees. They can appear around ornamental trees as well, like the kind of shrubbery used in landscaped yards."

"Researchers have found that dead man's fingers contain an effective antimicrobial compound that may be able to be used as a natural food preserve. That's pretty interesting in itself, especially considering the fact that this fungus is mostly known in the United States as being deadly to trees!"

They only show up in/on dead or dying trees. They pretty much finish the tree off, aka if you fins them and they are attached to the tree it's already too late and it's best to remove the tree before it falls down. They only look like "fingers" when they are younger. Mature versions of the fungi look like dog droppings that haven't fallen over.

Middle East?

There is a separate fruit from the far east with the same name but the fingers are blue.

I have no idea why the stuff I found earlier was from the middle east/far east because the worst thing in the world to translate is poetry. Literal computer translation is almost incomprehensible as most poetry isn't "literal". The worst time I had in four years of classical latin was when we were trying to read/translate poems. We rarely got the words correct and never got the meaning.

re toxicity. Further research indicates the younger fungi are not toxic per se but they do warn about trying to eat the mature ones (the ones that look like dog poop). This is when the fungi is actively spreading spoors. Why anyone would even consider eating something that looks like dog poop is beyond me.

[E7]

Chick once again found and matched up the photo - yup, it's Xylaria polymorpha -------> dead man's fingers.

One bloody typo and he's had a sex change! There is another dead mans fingers found in the blue crab (the gills). Not very tasty but not fatal, and then a multitude of Living Dead and Zombie movies! Scientific name: Bado Televisiono

[chuck]

Isn't Chick what Bud Costello called Lou Abbot in "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein"?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Isn't Chick what Bud Costello called Lou Abbot in "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein"?

Think so.

[chuck]

There was also Chico Marx, aka Chicolini of whom Grouch once said:

Rufus T. Firefly : Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don't let that fool you: he really is an idiot. I implore you, send him back to his father and brothers, who are waiting for him with open arms in the penitentiary. I suggest that we give him ten years in Leavenworth, or eleven years in Twelveworth.

Chicolini : I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll take five and ten in Woolworth.

Not bad company to be in.