Phaeolus schweinitzii?

[Alex Seaview]

Hello Please, could someone give advice regarding the pictures below? I am getting unclear answers from various sources on the best course of action regarding the significance of this Fungi and how urgently work should be undertaken if at all? Also several trees in this area have the same helical ribbed nose adaptative growth which could be linked to the Fungi? Many thanks 

 

[openspaceman]

I would say it was a significant brown rotter often causing collapse of the stem, the exposed wood then has a characteristic  jeyes fluid like smell, or wind throw.Those ribs seem to run a fair way up the stem, any chance of using a resistograph or similar blunt drill or hammer?

 

When they fruit  on the ground away from the tree I suspect rotten roots. I'm seeing a few dead or dying mature pines with similar fruiting so I think the dry weather may have exacerbated the fungal attack.

[Alex Seaview]

Hi thanks for your reply. 
 

yes they do go up a fair way. The tree is in excess of 25m. The percussion test gave a consistent resonance. The customer is reluctant to spend money on something that may well end in costing more money…..

 

Perhaps it’s because I’m paying more attention but I have never seen so many fruiting bodies on trees. 

[openspaceman]

27 minutes ago, Alex Seaview said:

Hi thanks for your reply. 
 

yes they do go up a fair way. The tree is in excess of 25m. The percussion test gave a consistent resonance. The customer is reluctant to spend money on something that may well end in costing more money…..

 

Perhaps it’s because I’m paying more attention but I have never seen so many fruiting bodies on trees. 

I cannot help more, I am seeing more of the dyers mazegill mushrooms than I remember before  but it is some years since  I saw saw a fruiting body and noticed the tree subsequently fallen.

 

Most scots pines on the heath here that are pushing 100 years old tended to show signs of schweinitzii, mostly as a dark stain of the heartwood and the smell, but when I was harvesting them in the 80s it was known as polyporus schweinitzii

[nepia]

I researched this fungus on behalf of my father-in-law a few years ago when it was identified on a 70' topped Black Pine.  The suggested course of action was immediate removal.

As stated it's a brown rotter, i.e. it degrades cellulose.

In your pic the house looks a lot less than 25m away!

[Alex Seaview]

Hi, thank you very much for your reply. Defiantly airing on the side of caution here with hazards in close proximity. I don't suppose you have any pictures of the decayed stem after the tree in question was felled? 

[nepia]

It was only taken down to about 10' because the stem bifurcated close to the ground and many years ago the bottoms of the two stems were braced with several large metal rods!  Sorry