The Meripilus thread!

Fungus · August 18, 2011

and why not assume so much? a group planting of the wild version (ungrafted) purple beech, a fad for the landscape around this time

Tony,

Not very likely in those days in Belgium or The Netherlands, see : Old grafted notary beeches.

Tom Joye · August 23, 2011

Tom,
I assume, Meripilus by now is in it's phase where it has undermined the root plate and is ready to go "underground" for several years (see : my post on the Meripilus "fairy tale").

To determine whether the beech is entering the final phase of its reproductive life cycle, check for superficial adventitious rooting around the trunk base and for Laccaria amethystina fruiting from them. Also look for the presence or absence of tree species specific ectomycorrhizal macrofungi (Amanita phalloides, A. citrina, Russula fellea, R. mairei, Lactarius blennius, L. subdulcis) and the substition of specilialized by generalistic symbionts, such as Scleroderma citrinum, Russula parazurea, R. ochroleuca and Paxillus involutus.

The panic fruiting of the tree with sterile fruits (70 % sterile, 30 % fertile), because of an increasing lack of phosphor, for the greater part "delivered" by tree species specific Lactarius and Russula species, seems to be the first indication of the tree entering the phase of old age. By the way, how old is this beech ?

Last week I took a litlle walk to this beech again. Still standing, retrenched a little more, but I did not find much FB's. The ones I found were scattered around the small group of beeches, not necessarily on the big beech.

Here's what I found:

* first two pictures: young FB of Meripilus on the underside of the root plate and lots of adventitious roots, but no sign of Laccaria amethystina around stem base

* next shot:??

* Russula parazurea?

* last shots: all Boletus chrysenteron?

So if my ID's correct it seems indeed that most macrofungi are generalistic species rather than specialists.

Fungus · August 23, 2011

Here's what I found:
* first two pictures: young FB of Meripilus on the underside of the root plate and lots of adventitious roots, but no sign of Laccaria amethystina around stem base

* next shot:??

* Russula parazurea?

* last shots: all Boletus chrysenteron?

So if my ID's correct it seems indeed that most macrofungi are generalistic species rather than specialists.

Tom,

* Last week, I was monitoring some Dutch beech (and oak) woods for two days and I didn't spot any Laccaria amethystina, so you'll probably have to wait until later this year for the fruiting of the species.

* next shot and * Russula parazurea are more likely Russula cyanoxantha, which should have elastic fatty gills, that do not crumble when bruised. R. cyanoxantha is mostly associated with older beeches and oaks, so this is a representative of the beech-oak tree species specific ecosystem.

* yes : all Xerocomus (= Boletus) chrysenteron s.l., which is a generalistic species associated with deciduous and coniferous trees.

Conclusion : part of the root system is connected to mycelia of a mainly with beech-oak associating Russula, still providing the tree with phosphor to be able to blossom and fruit (DNA) and other parts of the root system have entered their final phase in the tree species specific life cycle.

Can you relate the parts of the root system associated with X. chrysenteron to the presence of M. giganteus in/on the effected roots and buttocks close to or at the tree base ?

Edited August 23, 2011 by Fungus

Tom Joye · August 23, 2011

I didn't spot any Laccaria amethystina, so you'll probably have to wait until later this year for the fruiting of the species.

...

Can you relate the parts of the root system associated with X. chrysenteron to the presence of M. giganteus in/on the effected roots and buttocks close to or at the tree base ?

Gerrit,

Thanks a lot for the ID, I'll check for a positive ID of Russula cyanoxantha. And I imagined that I might be more succesfull in finding interesting FB later this year.

As for your question: as I have only found a few FB's and only one or two that I can really link to the big beeches root system, it's very hard to answer that. All FB were found in this small but dense tree group, but as for now, it's hard to link a FB to a specific root or even tree. But I'll keep checking up on the tree and the fungal associations and I'll keep you all updated...

Cheers,

Tom

Tony Croft aka hamadryad · August 23, 2011

Gerrit,
Thanks a lot for the ID, I'll check for a positive ID of Russula cyanoxantha. And I imagined that I might be more succesfull in finding interesting FB later this year.

As for your question: as I have only found a few FB's and only one or two that I can really link to the big beeches root system, it's very hard to answer that. All FB were found in this small but dense tree group, but as for now, it's hard to link a FB to a specific root or even tree. But I'll keep checking up on the tree and the fungal associations and I'll keep you all updated...

Cheers,

Tom

just as an observation the laccarias have been fruiting sporadicaly here (south east England) for a few weeks now.

Fungus · August 25, 2011

This beech I've known (and liked) for the entire period of me being a primary school kid. Yesterday I visited my old town for the third time in the past three years on the 24th and/or 25th of August and saw from a distance the poor condition the partially defoliated crown was in.

Closer by it turned out to be surrounded by four clusters of FB's of Meripilus giganteus, which just had started fruiting (for the first time ever ?). The last picture shows the horizontal wavery shell buckling of the bark at the base of the trunk, caused by the changes in slenderness ratio and the sideways movement of the tree and/or the white rot of the central wood column compressing the base with the weigth of the trunk and the crown.

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