11/Oct/2026, 1:38 PM
Kloostrimets, Tallinn, Harju, Eesti
Mixed forest (pine-mapple), deep in dark bushes, on decayed wet hardwood log
59°28'08.5"N 24°50'35.4"E
🌡️ 11°C ⛅ Scattered clouds 💨 Wind 120° ESE->WNW, 13 km/h
Original Instagram postXylaria hypoxylon
Candle-Snuff Fungus
- Scientific identification
- Xylaria hypoxylon (L.) Grev.
- Family
- Xylariaceae
- Class
- Sordariomycetes
- Genus
- Xylaria
Names across languages
- English: Candle-Snuff Fungus
- German: Geweihförmige Holzkeule
- Finnish: Haarasarvisieni
- Estonian: Sarvjas süsik
- Russian: Ксилярия гипоксилон
The scientific profile
From the latest record: 2026-10-11.
Hymenium
Perithecia embedded in the black stromatic surface, appearing as minute pimple-like bumps with ostioles; white powdery conidia produced externally during the asexual stage
Fruit body
Erect, slender, cylindrical to flattened, often forked or antler-like; black, finely hairy near base, with conspicuous white powdery tips when young; becoming entirely charcoal-black and minutely roughened at maturity
Stipe
Short to elongated, black, tough and wiry, sometimes longitudinally grooved; base broadened and covered with dark brown to black tomentum
Description
Spore mass white from asexual conidia, dark brown to black from mature ascospores
Ecology
Saprobic, causing soft rot on decaying hardwood; fallen branches, stumps, logs and buried woody debris; scattered to densely clustered; year-round
Ecology
Inedible; tough, rubbery and insubstantial
Fruit body
Fruit body small to medium; ~2–8 cm tall and ~2–8 mm thick
Dimensions
Perithecia ∅ ~0.4–0.7 mm
Flesh
White to cream internally, solid, tough and elastic, unchanging when cut
Chemical reactions
Amyloid apical ring turning blue in Melzer's reagent
Microscopy
Ascospores ellipsoid to bean-shaped, inequilateral, smooth, brown, ~9.5–13.5 × 4.5–6 µm; asci cylindrical, 8-spored, ~140–220 µm long; conidia hyaline, smooth, narrowly fusiform-clavate, ~8.5–12 × 3.5–4 µm
Overview
Black antler-like candlesnuff fungus with distinctive white powdery tips on decaying hardwood
1824). Fl. Edin.: 355.
Field encounters
Source hashtags
#xylariahypoxylon #mushroomphotos #fungimacro #candlesnufffungus #naturephotography
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