Hamadryads fungus diary

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

What makes you so sure that I be remotely interested in your thread, and even bother looking at it?............Ooooops, busted

 

These last posts particularly communicate your thoughts and experience really really well.

 

Nice piece of work.

 

Shots aint too shabby either .

 

Oh I knew you would appreciate this one!

 

Im almost there with the complete picture, going to start putting together a little monograph soon, a sort of micheal aspel- oak, this is your life kind of thing:laugh1:

 

Should be a very "inclusional" tale.

[Gerbutt]

Amazing thread hamadryad, I never knew fungi could be so beautiful! It's given me the urge to go a'hunting myself:001_smile:

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Amazing thread hamadryad, I never knew fungi could be so beautiful! It's given me the urge to go a'hunting myself:001_smile:

 

And its comments like this that realy make it worthwhile, fungi are beautiful and complex and mysterious. I dont know what else could possibly hold so much draw for me, they are simply awsome to observe study and get to know.

 

And if you thought the previous shots where beautiful check out todays post coming up! David (monkeyD) and I have some kind of freaky luck when we go out on a mini foray, we was up at the Jonsie show and on the way..... well look at the post below!

 

Thanks for the post gerbutt:thumbup:

 

Tone

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Firstly, thanks to Justin (jonsie of FRJones) for holding a great show this weekend, MonkeyD and I came up together for the event, on the way up we found, this is becoming a regular occurence for the "dynamic duo" something that is above and beyond. Its like we have a combined luck when we go exploring together and I couldnt have asked for a better fungi freak to share this one with, as David has for some time wanted the "classic" image of this one and it is as you can see the best example both we or you all will likely ever see and this thread is my/our oportunity to share these wonders of the natural world with all of you.

 

For those that come up to me at the shows and express your gratitude for my postings on this subject, this post is dedicated to all of you:thumbup1:

 

Your continued support and interest gives my quest an edge that pushes it beyond my own spiritual journey of discovery and gives it purpose and meaning, and fullfills what i feel is a responsibility that comes with "knowing" to share and inspire the next generation of Arb mycotas:thumbup1:

 

Inonotus dryadeus- like never seen before

 

 

Heres MonkeyD quote: " I think I'm having an embolism" sums it up for both of us!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

The inonotus above was a pure luck thing, we could have so easily have missed it... on our way to the show we saw this perfect ganoderma resinaceum and we pulled over to get the shots.I had to answer a call and as I was stood there i realised i had walked into an ancient coppice woodland fragment, as i scanned the scenefor more i caught a glimpse of what i thought was a load of Rigidiporus on a chestnut in a line of trees behind the roadside hedge. I screamed out DAVID!" and as we walked closer i caught a glimpse of what was now within my view but yet to be clear to Monkeyd, i wont repeat what i said here but suffice to say, it was a great moment and as sad as we may appear, to us these moments are pure gold.

 

So thats the tale of the Dryadeus above! here are a few others from the trip.

 

Ganoderma resinaceum mature bracket and fresh forming lower right.

Inonotus hispidus at the show ground (Kingswood training HQ)

Colybia fusipes- roadside Oak

[Ian H]

Tony what an absolutely stunning set of shots within an awesome thread, you guys truly are the dynamic duo:thumbup:

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Tony what an absolutely stunning set of shots within an awesome thread, you guys truly are the dynamic duo:thumbup:

 

Thanks ian, Im glad you enjoy the thread so much, I dont know how i will continue to surpass the posts but trying is great fun!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Laetiporus sulphureus- on a very large old veteran oak- Ashridge park

 

 

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Daedalea quercinus- the oak mazegill- Ashridge park

 

Some late ident features- Pholiota aurivella- AKA the golden scaly cap

 

These old black stipes remain for up to a year in this form, and can often be found suspended like this on beech wounds right up until the new fruiting.

 

 

And this is about 3 weeks old, its Volvariella bombycina

 

A very large shroom, with a still visible volva around the stipe base, often on beech and chestnut, but also ash and other broadleaves.

 

Edited August 8, 2010 by Tony Croft aka hamadryad

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Over the last few years ive been increasingly aware of colybia fusipes, this fungi is only just begining to get the attention it deserves and has recently (apparently) been up graded to a more serious level. This was no suprise to me as I was already coming to this conclusion and up until now I would have stuck with the texts on the subject. This season has given me so many oportunities to observe this fungi that I am pretty confidant of my views.

 

I am not usualy one to consider fungi as particulary "pathogenic" as 99% simply arent that aggressive, that said colybia looks to be a bit more of a monster than anyone had given it credit for.

 

Its pretty ubiquotus in the wild, and fulfills the same role within oak populations as meripilus does within beechwoods. However, where there is much human disturbance or activity, the stress and damages that go with human interactivity is, like meripilus, giving colybia more opportunities than would be present in the wild wood.

 

As our climate warms up, the stress on our temperate trees will continue to rise, as will the colonisations of the principal decay fungi, which benifit from dessication cracks and stressed trees as this gives them the accses they require.

 

We really must look hard at new ways to protect the root zone within our urban green spaces, we simply have to start paying more attention to the trees we know and love so much. The future of our urban and green space tree populations is under great threat, and if we do not pull our socks up soon we will lose a great many trees.

 

In the last 10 years we have had 7 in drought, in this time, decay fungi have been highly active, many trees that have never fruited a fungi will already be well colonised due to the last decades dry periods.

 

Whilst from a mycologists point of view, the last few years have been quite frankly outstanding for research, data collection and the observation of fungal fruiting, it does not bode well. The fungi are not the problem, it is our climate that is the problem, the fungi have always been there and always done what they do. But our trees, well you only have to look around you to know they have suffered greatly over the last decade.

 

These images below are both Colybia fusipes, you can see there is a significant difference between the two. I cant prove this scientificaly as yet (give me time) but i am now almost certain that these are two seperate forms, with the white speckled version on the right being much larger in most instances that i have come across it.

 

it may be that one is wholly saprobic, whilst the other is far more aggressive and of greater significance from a tree assesment point of view. iether way it may be some time before we are fully aware of the facts with colybia, this arb-mycota subject is a long and tricky road.

 

Edited August 11, 2010 by Tony Croft aka hamadryad