Perreniporia fraxinea, de-mystified?

[janey]

I bet the two Fung Hunters are familiar with this tree! I'm pretty confident that the larger brackets on the trunk up to the crown break are P. fraxinea. Are the smaller, basal brackets Gano'?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

suggest this is australe, and a flipping hazard!

[janey]

suggest this is australe, and a flipping hazard!

 

You can't see from the pics, but the pop's been heavily reduced / pollarded and adjacent to the highway. It's good to see that it's being managed for habitat rather than the TO playing risk free and removing it

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I have come across this fungi enough now to witness its life style, I am confident that it is in a similar vein to Inonotus Dryadeus, and of no more threat than other lower stem recyclers, only becoming an issue in VERY late stages and low vigour/vitality within the host.

 

As a white rot it tends to offer adaptation potential and I have again witnessed this now many times over, I am tending not to agree with JFL regarding its nasty little rotter tag, it is no more nasty than any other root/lower stem recyclers. Obviously the usual precautions should be observed in assessment of such trees under the VTA system of evaluation, T/R ratios etc.

 

But like most fungi its role is vital in the root lower stem modifications a tree must make if it is to continue into the late mature phases. The body language of the root crown should again be our guide into how well the tree is adapting, and crown symptoms observed for significant chlorosis and or die back of limbs as this would indicate progressive decay and a senescent state in the tree.

 

For the veteren tree to be retained in a management regime I would say haloing would be a chief priority in these cases, as competition will decrease its potential for resource management especially in the lower crown.

 

as with all decayed regions it is highly desirable to encourage or preserve photo synthetic area as close to the decay region/column as it is possible to achieve, the more carb production close to decay the better the compensatory rate of growth is.

 

For this reason field grown trees appear to fair the best in lower stem decays, as photosynthesis is more efficient as is the distribution network, and potential therein for adaptation and maintenance of T/R ratios.

 

I think this AAIS alert by JFL is unjustified and will be producing a counter measure in order that there is some balance restored. Survival of field grown trees colonised is sufficient proof of the low priority of the fungus and potential. It is vital that we learn to distinguish true pathogens from those that have co evolutionary roles in tree morphologies and pernniporia is one of those that is part and parcel of the aged tree.

 

I am not suggesting this is not a dangerous fungi, for decay is always potentially dangerous, but i am suggesting that this fungi is NOT a straight forward death nell for trees colonised. Much work and research is required into the root butt decay via perenniporia fraxinea, but IMO it will be revealed that its role is no more detrimental than inonotus dryadeus in oaks.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fungus]

Julian, with one flailing sword he condems the poor suffering hosts of P f

 

I'm sorry to say, but JFL's article lacks thorough assessment and documentation of a sufficient case load of trees affected by P. fraxinea and microscopical evidence of the type of wood rot to meet up to the necessary scientific standards and validity making a "condemnation" of P. fraxinea attacked trees plausible.

Besides, he doesn't include Oxiporus populinus in his analysis, a look-a-like of P. fraxinea with the same colour of context/trama and spores, which only can be 100 % excluded by measuring the spores, see this post.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I'm sorry to say, but JFL's article lacks thorough assessment and documentation of a sufficient case load of trees affected by P. fraxinea and microscopical evidence of the type of wood rot to meet up to the necessary scientific standards and validity making a "condemnation" of P. fraxinea attacked trees plausible.

Besides, he doesn't include Oxiporus populinus in his analysis, a look-a-like of P. fraxinea with the same colour of context/trama and spores, which only can be 100 % excluded by measuring the spores, see this post.

 

Interesting, I continue to learn greatly from you Gerrit:thumbup1:

 

I dont agree with his view of perenniporia anyways.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I popped back to see the best example of a standing live Perenniporia fraxinea colonised tree that I know of today. It is the same tree as the first of the photos in the post above.

 

The tree although growing beside a small stream appears to have been drought stressed in the early part of this year and has dropped a lot of leaf and has some die back. I have also noted a number of new brackets tht have formed since the above photos taken at the start of 2010. It is clear that something has altered the equilibrium in the colonisation of this tree recently and much fungal progression has become evident.

 

In a natural systems inonotus hispidus would normally have brought about some self pollarding and retrenchment, however unusually the perenniporia is at a more advanced stage in the life cycle of this ash and ahead of any hispidus colonisation. I would if it was my call reduce only those longest lever arms in the dormant season leaving all other leaf area unaltered and then when the reduced limbs had re established a bushy frame work go back to do a full reduction of around 40% to bring it into the same semi pollarded state that Hispidus would usually have done without our interventions.

[Fungus]

a standing live Perenniporia fraxinea colonised tree .. however unusually the perenniporia is at a more advanced stage in the life cycle of this ash

 

Great follow up . Was the damage done to the upper surface of the major roots caused by a lawn mower or by shoes of fishing men standing on the river bank ?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Great follow up . Was the damage done to the upper surface of the major roots caused by a lawn mower or by shoes of fishing men standing on the river bank ?

 

common land, horse grazing:001_smile: