Identification: Id this please???

My son was hiking around in Powell River and stumbled on this. It had no scent was sponge like inside. The tool beside it is a leatherman to get a rough idea of size. There were about six or seven in a small area. Any ideas as to what it is? It was dry one day as it was not raining, the next day my son came back to the same specimen and it had absorbed water like a sponge since it had been raining throughout the evening

 

Xylaria polymorpha, dead man's fingers?
Was the fungus white on its inside?

Welcome to the Forum!

 

Thanks for getting back so fast. It was not white inside it was brown and soft. Reading some of the descriptions, and much larger. Really curious about it. Thanks again.

Andra

 

How cool is that!

I haven't the foggiest but would love to know what that is!
To that end, I've sent your photo off to some local sagacious naturalists, asking for help.

Thank you for adding the leatherman for size context and for indicating the number of them in the area.
In case this may be relevant: Can you add any info about the locale, eg. dominant trees, proximity to ocean, proximity to human habitation?
Also - Are they attached to the soil or to anything in the soil, or are they resting atop the ground surface?

Thanks
-frog

 

He said that the "plant" was not far off the road. Less than a 10 minute walk from the hi-way. Less than half a kilometer from the ocean. The area is sparsely populated. But it is forested. I can't get a hold of him now to find out if it is attached to the ground or what kind of trees are about. As soon as I can get more info from him I will post it. Again thank you so much

 

Here's a wild guess: member of Geastraceae? Am looking at that central deflated-puffball-looking structure.

 

Paul Kroeger has replied to say they found a specimen in Haida Gwaii in 2008 of Phaeolus schweinitzii that looked much like this your specimen.

He's pointed out a photo of a similar looking example, located at http://www.natureconservationimaging.com/images/Phaeolus-schweinitzii.jpg.

Interesting! That would not have made my list of guesses, but I can see what he means when looking at that photo.

cheers,
frog

 

So it has a name?? Thanks the link to the pic looks very much like it. However google image search for the same name looks very different. I will let him know. I going to go this weekend and get more pics of it.
Thanks for everyones help

 

BWS - I think you should still consider this a possible ID: Paul has not seen your specimen, just a photo of it, so ID is still a maybe.

This is not the shape of a typical P. schweinitzii, which would normally grow in a sort of a rosette or whorl, with a paler growing edge.

If it is possible to get more information on your specimens:
- You mentioned it was spongy inside: Hard or soft spongy? Is the interior solid?
- Have they grown since you last saw them: Any sign of starting to form a whorl-ish shape at the tips of these "tentacles", or even just starting to curve up skyward?

cheers,
-frog

 

Thanks again for the reply am going to go out to where it is tomorrow. will let you know what I find. I did not mean to suggest that I thought he was wrong. I was just curious. Will post again when i get to see it for myself.