Hypoxylon

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Hypoxylon (order Sphaeriales) A genus of fungi, in which the fruit body consists of a stroma in which perithecia are embedded. The fruit body is hard and dark-coloured and is often hemispherical but may be flattened and crust-like. The tips of the perithecia are just visible as tiny warts on the surface. The spores are dark brown. H. fragiforme is common from late summer to spring on dead beech wood; the fruit bodies are hemispherical, 0.1–1.0 cm across, crowded, salmon-pink in colour, becoming brick-red and finally black.