Xylaria Hypoxylon

Day 16: I find myself in the position of needing to revise much of this post since discovering that I made not one but TWO misidentifications of the subject at hand. I thought I'd found a new species of fungus for the Park when I pulled the photos off the camera after yesterday's walk. Admittedly, they had been taken in poor light, were somewhat out of focus, and the colour was less than true, all factors which sent me back up the road today with a tripod. I'd also read up on the species, finding some clues which seeded a touch of doubt as to my proposed identification. There was nothing for it. I needed to go back to make a more thorough examination of the specimens. Once on site, I became even less certain of the ID, but given the size of the growth (under 3/4"), I couldn't imagine what else it might be. And then ten minutes later, I stepped over another log further along the route (a term I use without any inference that there is even a vestige of trail present) and...on, hang on a mo'...there was a more mature grouping. I took better photos, but even so, I drew the wrong conclusion. I was given a gentle nudge in the right direction by our Park Plant Ecologist, and would like to apologize to my readers. This in fact is Xylaria hypoxylon, aka "Carbon-antlers" or "Stag's horn fungus," a common PNW species which occurs on rotting wood.