King Alfred’s cakes are well named, for although they are inedible they do look like small burnt buns. The ball-shaped fruiting body of a fungus known as Daldinia concentrica, they appear on dead wood in broadleaf woodlands and will keep reappearing in the same spot, year after year. They start off pale and darken with age, their skin growing tougher and more leathery, and because of this protective ability they can provide a home for invertebrates. Also known as cramp balls, coal fungus and tinder bracket, when dry they can be useful for lighting and transporting fire, something known to Stone Age peoples. King Alfred’s cakes do not harm their hosts, living instead on wood that has already died.
King Alfred’s cakes are well named, for although they are inedible they do look like small burnt buns. The ball-shaped fruiting body of a fungus known as Daldinia concentrica, they appear on dead wood in broadleaf woodlands and will keep reappearing in the same spot, year after year. They start off pale and darken with age, their skin growing tougher and more leathery, and because of this protective ability they can provide a home for invertebrates. Also known as cramp balls, coal fungus and tinder bracket, when dry they can be useful for lighting and transporting fire, something known to Stone Age peoples. King Alfred’s cakes do not harm their hosts, living instead on wood that has already died.
Melissa Harrison Monday August 18 2025 The Times