CLASSIFICATION
(SOURCE: NCBI database)

KINGDOM: Fungi
DIVISION: Ascomycota
CLASS: Sordariomycetes
ORDER: Xylariales
FAMILIES: several

XYLARIACOUS WOOD DECAYERS
Xylaria

Here "xylariacous" refers to members of the fungus order Xylariales, which doesn't have a good English name. Sometimes its species are referred to as "wood decayers," but members of other fungus groups also decay wood.

The black-and-white little fungus at the left (only 0.4 inch or 10 mm high) is a member of the genus Xylaria, growing on the wood of a log fallen in the woods.

Candlesnuff, XYLARIA HYPOXYLON

At the right, that's Candlesnuff, the name from back when everyone snuffed candles instead of flipping off the lights. It's Xylaria hypoxylon, also on a dead log

Hypoxylon

At the left is another xylariacous wood decayer family, a good guess being that it's a member of the genus Hypoxylon. It's growing as a crust on the decaying bark of a dead twig. If you look at the crust very closely with a hand lens, you'll see tiny (less than 1/32-inch, 0.8 mm), black, slightly raised dots. These dots are small cavities called perithecia (sing., perithecium), which are round or flask-shaped bruiting bodies with a pore through which ascospore-type spores can be discharged into the air. These ascospores then germinate to form new fungus bodies.

All members of the Xylariaceae should be considered inedible.