Daldinia concentrica - King Alfred's Cakes

Taxonomy

Class: Soprdariomycetes

Order: Xylariales

Family: Xylariaceae

Common referred to as King Alfred's Cakes (a reference to their burnt appearance, of course, because having been given shelter by a peasant woman Alfred, preoccupied by other concerns, was reputed to have inadvertently allowed her cakes to burn, having promised that he would watch her cakes cooking. They are also referred to as Cramp Balls (because carrying them was thought to cure attacks of cramps) these hard, inedible fungi appear most often on ash and beech wood.

Inside the fruitbody there are concentric silver-grey and black layers, from which comes the the specific epithet concentrica.

Identification guide

Description	Initially brown and dense, the fruitbodies of Daldinia concentrica soon turn black, dry out and become less dense. There is no stipe; the fruitbody is attached to the host wood by a broad, flat area underneath the cushion-shaped fruitbody. The spore-bearing surface is the outside of the fruitbody, and spores leavce a slightly darker area of wood around the fungus.
Dimensions	Individual fruit bodies are typically 2 to 8cm across, but several may merge to form a much larger compound outgrowth.
Spore print	Black.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	On dead or dying wood of ash trees. A very similar species occurs on beech.
Season	New fruit bodies appear from mid summer through to the end of autumn, but old, dried out fruit bodies sometimes persist for a year or two.
Occurrence	Frequent.
Similar species	Several blackish crust fungi occur on dead wood. Ustulina deusta is one example; it does not have concentric rings within its fruitbody and does not form cushion-shaped or ball shaped growths.