Xylaria hypoxylon, also known as the candlesnuff fungus, has a branched, antler like form. It ranges from 2 to 8 cm high, with tough, pale flesh. Its sterile base is tough and wiry, with a covering of minute hairs. The upper portion is white and powdery when young, eventually becoming black and pimpled. This charcoal-like texture occurs when mature specimens produce perithecia, the asci containing flasks. Each ascus within the perithecium contains 8 ascospores. The spores are released through the ascopore, the opening at the tip of the ascus.

Ecology

Xylaria hypoxylon occurs scattered to clustered on rotting logs, stumps, or buried sticks. It is widely distributed and common. It occurs year round in the west in many habitats, but especialy on oak and tanoak int he fall and winter.