dead-man's-fingers

variants: or dead-men's-fingers

Definition of dead-man's-fingers

1 : any of several European orchids (genus Orchis) having pale digitate roots (especially O. mascula, O. maculata, O. latifolia, and O. morio)

2 : any of several other plants: such as

a : bird's-foot trefoil sense 1a

b : cuckoopint

c : meadow foxtail grass

3 : the fruiting bodies of fungi of the genus Xylaria (especially X. polymorpha)

4a : a fleshy alcyonarian (Alcyonium digitatum) usually lobed or digitate in form

b : a white or grayish digitately branching sponge (Chalina arbuscula) of the Atlantic coast

5 : dead man