Dead Man's Fingers

Since moving offices a few months ago I rarely drive past the woods and canal at Deepcut, which is a pity as it is a good location for an "after work wind down" with camera. So tonight I took the opportunity of an early escape from the office ahead of my holiday next week with a slight detour on the way home.

I discovered this glade of fallen tree trunks a few years ago together with a thriving colony of bracken fungi. Today the trunks are rotting away, covered in moss and ivy, and the bracken fungi has all but disappeared. I was thrilled however to find these black stumpy growths which I later identified as Dead Man's Fingers, or Xylaria Polymorpha.