The fruiting bodies of this fungus are supposed to resemble dead fingers emerging from the soil! Hence the name. They are commonly found growing on dead tree stumps or around the bases of trees. They are not considered to be a major decay fungi and live on dead wood.

This fungus is a member of the Ascomycota fungi group also known as the 'Sac Fungi'. This group produce spores in a flask shaped cell called an 'ascus' (from Greek 'askos' meaning sac or wineskin). Another Sac Fungus member is the Daldinia concentrica.

The following pictures were snapped in December 2007 on a site near Hull, UK. The tree is a Whitebeam (Sorbus aria). Much of the lower stem contained dead/missing bark.

I thought I would slice a 'finger' laterally and vertically to see how they look inside. See scans below. The flask shaped cells (in which the spores are produced prior to ejection through the fungi surface) can be seen around its inner edge.