The large bumpy fruit bodies are initially pale grey and soft, with grey asexual spores (conidia) on the surface.  They then enter a sexual phase, which has a black, brittle crust dotted with small conical bumps which are the openings of the spore-producing perithecia inside the fruitbody.  

Photograph in habitat and in close up to show surface.  Note habitat, substrate and associated plant species

At the base of deciduous trees or stumps, often beech