Geoglossum cookeanum

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Clavariales

Family: geoglossaceae

Sometimes mistakenly recorded as Dead Man’s Fingers, Xylaria polymorpha, this earthtongue has some even closer lookalikes, including Trichoglossum hirsutum, Hairy Earthtongue. (The stem of the latter is minutely hirsute, but in other macroscopic characters it matches the description of Geoglossum cookeanum very closely.)

This common earthtongue is found mainly in mossy, sandy grassland, often in dune slacks or on the edges of coastal pine forests.

Note: Some authorities include an 'i' is the specific epithet, thus making Geoglossum cookeianum.

Identification guide

Description	Black, longitudinally indented fertile section above a more or less cylindrical infertile stem. The fertile section, shaped like a flattened club, covers the upper 50 to 70% of the fruitbody,
Size	The individual stems are typically 3 to 7cm tall.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	On the ground in unimproved grassland and in mossy dune slacks.
Season	June to November.
Occurrence	Uncommon.
Similar species	Xylaria polymorpha grows on dead hardwood and its stromata (compound ascomycetous fruitbodies) are not usually laterally compressed or indented.

Reference Sources

Fascinated by Fungi, Pat O'Reilly 2011

Dictionary of the Fungi; Paul M. Kirk, Paul F. Cannon, David W. Minter and J. A. Stalpers; CABI, 2008

Taxonomic history and synonym information on these pages is drawn from many sources but in particular from the British Mycological Society's GB Checklist of Fungi and (for basidiomycetes) on Kew's Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota.