What came first, chicken or the egg?

[Steve Bullman]

A, hazel(maybe) seedling pierces through the Ganoderma bracket and carried on growing(seems unlikely) or b, ganoderma bracket grew around the seedling(also seems unlikely given the size of the seedling and timeframe)

 

 

[Ratman]

Coincidence in time? ?‍♂️ touched at same point then grew through/around each other? Would of expected seedling to grow at a faster rate of time to bracket? How fast do brackets grow Steve?

[Steve Bullman]

8 minutes ago, Ratman said:

Coincidence in time? ?‍♂️ touched at same point then grew through/around each other? Would of expected seedling to grow at a faster rate of time to bracket? How fast do brackets grow Steve?

@David Humphries would be the man to answer that one

[David Humphries]

I think the bracket has grown around the seedling, annual and perennial brackets grow rapidly during initial development.

 

[nepia]

Doesn't the indent in the edge of the bracket suggest it pushed its way round the hazel stem?  The hazel spearing the bracket from below wouldn't cause it.

[Derek Eames]

Fascinating. I always thought Ganoderma was pretty tough...

[Ben R]

Agree with David - the fungus grew around the seedling. Young fruiting bodies aren't as woody.

 

Common Ink-caps can push up through tarmac.