Good morning team. This week's mushroom is Hypoxylon Howeanum. It doesn't have a common name and there isn't too much information available on this mushroom. I found this mushroom fruiting on a dead limb in the landscape with the iconic tupelo tree on 11/19/2020. Per iNaturalist it can be found in eastern North America, Europe, and Australia. The fruiting bodies are rust-colored, hemispherical, and bumpy. The mushrooms appear in the summer/fall but also overwinter which makes them visible for most of the year. The two common hypoxylon species you'll see around here are H. howeanum and H. fragiforme. The rule of thumb to distinguish between the two is that H. fragiforme only grows on dead beech. H. howeanum can also grow on beech though so at that point you'd need to measure the spores using a microscope to distinguish between the two.
Have a calming Monday,
Aubrey