dead-men's-fingers

9.9

Dark, finger-shaped parts of a fungus that grow on dead wood

noun
/ˈdɛdˌmɛnʔsˈfɪŋɡərz/

Specialized

: dedos de los muertos

We spotted several clusters of dead-men's-fingers growing on the fallen log in the forest.

Examples

I found some dead-men's-fingers growing near the old tree stump.
Mycology students learned to identify dead-men's-fingers by their characteristic color and shape.
The wood was covered in an eerie carpet of dead-men's-fingers after the rain.
Look at those dead-men's-fingers on that decaying log!
Mycology students learned to identify dead-men's-fingers by their characteristic color and shape.
We spotted several clusters of dead-men's-fingers growing on the fallen log in the forest.
The wood was covered in an eerie carpet of dead-men's-fingers after the rain.

Synonyms

dead-man's-fingers

vsdead-men's-fingers

Specialized

9.9

Dark fungi that look like fingers and grow from rotting wood

is identical in meaning but uses a different plural form

Xylaria polymorpha

vsdead-men's-fingers

Specialized

9.9

A black fungus that grows as long, finger-like shapes on rotten wood

refers to the fruiting bodies in general, not only one species

Xylaria

vsdead-men's-fingers

Specialized

9.9

A group of fungi that grow on decaying wood as black, woody, finger-like growths like dead man's fingers

names the finger-shaped fruiting bodies specifically, not the entire genus

Surface Forms

dead-men's-fingers singular

dead-men's-fingers plural

Etymology

Dead-men's-fingers comes from how these fungi make dark, long, finger-shaped growths on dead wood, like the fingers of a dead hand. So the name gives an easy picture to remember: it tells you these are long, dark 'fingers' growing from dead trees.