Keizer's Fungi Q & A.

[Fungus]

Take the mans advice pronto.

 

Tony,

Which our queen did not with rather dramatic results. Some years ago, a collegue and I were asked to evaluate the Royal limes beside the main lane of one of the queen's palaces in The Hague. We found a similar one as above presented with lots of old crusts of Ustulina deusta hidden between the shoots at the base of the trunk.

To test the remaining intact wood at and below ground level, I pushed a spade underneath the tree, which my collegue could grasp at the other side without any resistance. In that moment, the queen passed by in her car, looking very disturbed with what she saw happening.

After we found a second Tilia with U. deusta, we advised to fell both trees at short notice, i.e. in October before the November storms came. Being rather fond of her trees, the queen ordered to leave them be, and the following year, during a February storm, one of the trees tipped over and fell on a wired "electrifying" fence at the bank of a moat meant to keep intruders out, taking fifteen metres of fence down in its fall.

We were then asked to return and monitor and evaluate all Royal limes again, after which we had the other infected Tilia felled at short notice. Her Majesty's secretary told us, that the fencing cost 10.000 guilders a metre. When I asked what a queen would have cost per metre, if the tree had fallen to the other side while she drove by, the man was not amused and my collegue turned red for embarrassment. Being an emperor myself (Keizer = emperor) though, I didn't see much of a problem in my "disrespectful" behaviour.

In spite of my impudence, in the year of the fall of the lime, I was asked to evaluate some old trees in the palace court yard of another royal palace in The Hague. After finding panic reproduction of Meripilus giganteus at the base of an old Platanus, I concluded the tree had to be felled, which happened two days after without protest. I was invited in for tea with her Majesty's secretary, who then admitted, they had not acted very prudent upon our previous advice.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Fungus

[David Humphries]

Gerrit,

 

what opinion do you have on Kretzschmaria duesta having the capacity to act saprophytically ?

 

I often come across stumps with both the grey asexual stage & black mature stage FB's on.

 

 

 

 

very interesting story above btw

.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Monkey-D

[David Goss]

just to let you see the rest of the tree here it is, and just out of shot to the left is the house...

We took out all the dead wood today and the tree seemed stable enough. How long would you say before climbing is not an option and a mewp should be used?

Or should we use a mewp anyway?

[Fungus]

what opinion do you have on Kretzschmaria duesta having the capacity to act saprophytically ? I often come across stumps with both the grey asexual stage & black mature stage FB's on.

 

As it (always) starts as a saprotrophic, soft rotting and decomposing the dead wood of the central column first, it only needs to invade the cambium and show itself outside with the whitish grey asexual stage to reproduce with conidiospores and with the black crusts to reproduce with ascospores, which is optimal compared to the anamorf phase.

And as I state in my encyclopaedia (page 82) : "also saprophytic on remaining stumps.", i.e. as long as the "food" does not run out.

[David Humphries]

Thanks for the info Gerrit.

 

Honestly, I do actually 'read' the encyclopedia as well as looking at all the pretty pictures.

 

 

It helps me by returning to a subject a number of times, plus I don't think that many members on here actually would have the Encyclopedia at hand, so this additional insight from you beyond the usual text is priceless

 

 

 

 

.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Thanks for the info Gerrit.

 

Honestly, I do actually 'read' the encyclopedia as well as looking at all the pretty pictures.

 

 

It helps me by returning to a subject a number of times, plus I don't think that many members on here actually would have the Encyclopedia at hand, so this additional insight from you beyond the usual text is priceless

 

 

 

 

.

 

I just got another copy to add into the book club, thought it ought to be up there with the other important ones.

[David Humphries]

Hello Gerrit,

 

a little help on the Id of these two would be appreciated.

 

Both found in the Basque region of Spain in Oct '09

 

Did bag the name on the first one at the time via a very good local mycologist who was with us at the time (but promptly forgot )

 

First is within Beech leaf litter.

Very stong smell of garlic

 

Second is amongst Poplar twigs.

(Pholiota lucifera was as near as I could get)

 

 

Appologies for poor quality of the images.

 

It had been a very long day

 

.

[Fungus]

First is within Beech leaf litter. Very stong smell of garlic

Second is amongst Poplar twigs. (Pholiota lucifera was as near as I could get)

 

Hi David,

The first is Marasmius alliaceus and the second a Pholiota species, maybe P. lucifera, which normally grows on buried twigs and branches or wood chips of willows.

[David Humphries]

Hi David,

The first is Marasmius alliaceus and the second a Pholiota species, maybe P. lucifera, which normally grows on buried twigs and branches or wood chips of willows.

 

 

 

Thanks Gerrit

 

 

 

.

[RobRainford]

Hi Gerrit

 

Sorry to repost, I thought I would save hijacking the k-k-kretz thread completely from matt

 

I went back to visit the tree, more fruiting bodies, i can confirm, the circled areas in previous pictures ARE mature fruiting bodies, and i found a few more with a larger amount of white/grey telemorphic stages (if thats right) of the fungus.

 

had a bit of a dig, noticed an old wound at the base which may have been the site of initial infection? There are also some tips that are without leaf, as mentioned earlier this would indicate a restriction/blockage of the cambium.

 

Something tells me that his neighbour will be lonely in the coming month or two. I'm going to speak to the council and arrange a meeting with the tree officer to discuss this tree and what they want to do. I would assume, in light of finding more than I thought was there, they would maybe lean towards removal because of targets.

 

Secondly, the photo showing the lower stem, there are lots of bulges and lumps all over the lower 2m of stem, do these have any relation to kretz?

 

Sorry for some blurred pics, couldnt see my phone properly when i took the photo!

 

Your replies are much appreciated