Saprobic on dead logs, branches and stumps of broadleaves, favouring sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and beech; causes a soft rot; found most of the year

Inedible — the flesh is far too hard and tough

• ▸ Slender, black, club-shaped fruit bodies (2.5–6.5 cm tall) on a distinct narrow sterile stalk, usually unbranched
• ▸ Surface greyish to brownish when young and dusted with pale conidia, blackening and cracking into scales with age
• ▸ Interior flesh white and very tough
• ▸ Differs from Xylaria polymorpha by its longer stalk, more slender clubs and smaller spores (12–16 µm against 20–32 µm)
• ▸ Grows directly from dead hardwood, especially sycamore maple and beech

Named for its long stalk (longipes). The maple wood it decays is part of the "fungal violin" research, where controlled fungal decay was shown to shape the acoustic properties of instrument wood.