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Cramp Balls (Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum)

Cramp balls or carbon balls (Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum) are hard, charcoal-like mushrooms which are commonly found on dead oak trees. The surface of each fruiting body is covered with tiny, volcano-shaped bumps, which are the spore-bearing structures known as perithecia. There is a depressed ring at the top of each perithecium, which is helpful for differentiating this species from otherwise very similar species in the genus Daldinia.


Cramp balls (Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum). Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve, Sonoma County, California, USA.
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Cramp balls (Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum). Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve, Sonoma County, California, USA.
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Crop of the above specimen, depicting the sunken discs surrounding the spore-bearing perithecia. This is a key diagnostic feature which differentiates this species from the otherwise very similar Daldinia concentrica and Daldinia grandis. Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve, Sonoma County, California, USA.
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