dead-man's fingers

[ded-manz, -muhnz]

noun

1. any of various fungi, sponges, plant roots, animal parts, etc., having fingerlike projections and a pale or dull color, as the gray-black woodland fungus Xylaria polymorpha or the whitish spongy gills of a food crab.

dead man's fingers

noun

1. (functioning as singular) a soft coral, Alcyonium digitatum, with long finger-like polyps

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead man's fingers¹

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Dead-man’s fingers is a fine uncanny name for the innocent Orchis maculata, and refers to its branching white tuber.

From Project Gutenberg