Fistulina hepatica

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Sorry, misunderstanding. I do know about castanea. What I meant was only on the one type of oak. As the big oak at croft is a Q. petrea!

 

I remember that one vaguely. I've seen so many since and as they were early days it's trickier to remember but I do a little bit.

 

The two fruiting bodies in my pic above was on top of a pollard head. About 8ft from the ground.

 

Yes rob, both native oaks, which are heartwood forming, and castanea sativa.

 

but you have made me wonder about wether the inosculations are more typical of petrea and the cankerous burrs more robur:thumbup1:

[Fungus]

they are all basal, and while i too see this occasionally, mostly what i see here is adaptation and higher cankers and abnormal growths. Do you get anything like this where you are?

 

Yes, we do (photo Castanea), but not as often as you see it happening in the U.K.

I think, it's because we only have a few veteran oaks and very few old sweet chestnuts, that have old age entry wounds at higher levels and damage to the trees is almost always done at trunk base level creating lower entry wounds.

Besides, we don't have the competition of Fistulina with I. dryadeus, which forces Fistulina to have its territory higher up the tree.

---

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Yes, we do (photo Castanea), but not as often as you see it happening in the U.K.

I think, it's because we only have a few veteran oaks and very few old sweet chestnuts, that have old age entry wounds at higher levels and damage to the trees is almost always done at trunk base level creating lower entry wounds.

Besides, we don't have the competition of Fistulina with I. dryadeus, which forces Fistulina to have its territory higher up the tree.

---

 

speaking of which, I found a tree with them both in fairly close proximity in the stem, but i have forgotten the trees location DOH! it will come back to me, especialy as it was when tobias was over so wont be too hard to track down.

[sloth]

Couple of pics, only a little'un! Bottom left of cavity

[Treecreeper1961]

Tony,

In my opinion, the second photo shows a dry brown or cubical rot typical of Laetiporus sulphureus and only the last photo shows the type of bark and cambium necrosis caused by the mycelium of Fistulina hepatica invading the cambium. In The Netherlands, all very old Quercus robur are hollowed out by L. sulphureus, after which they loose the major branches of their crowns and some of them also have the necrosis "cancers" typical of F. hepatica. In my experience, F. hepatica only causes a pattern of circular (wet) brown rotted year rings from which the acids have been consumed, which are interspaced by non-effected intact year rings, because the mycelium grows inside out using the starch rich radial rays as a passage way. Besides, it is even assumed, that F. hepatica could cause a species specific type of soft rot too.

And most of the photo's depicting fruitbodies on the tree, show that they emerge from underneath the callus at the side of the wounds or break through the (intact) bark, which indicates, that the mycelium (as always ?) fruits from energy (sugar polymeres) drained from the cambium and/or other living tissue and not from the (dead) wood of the tree.

 

Sorry to but into this thread Fungus, I have only just discovered it. Am I right in thinking that this suggests F.hepatica only fruits on living trees and is in no way saprotrophic? The reason I ask is because a few months ago I was surprised to come across a very old oak stump, with only the fissured heartwood remaining, which had a fresh beafstake growing from under a low buttress cavity. Sorry, no photographic evidence.

[Fungus]

Am I right in thinking that this suggests F.hepatica only fruits on living trees and is in no way saprotrophic? The reason I ask is because a few months ago I was surprised to come across a very old oak stump, with only the fissured heartwood remaining, which had a fresh beafstake growing from under a low buttress cavity. Sorry, no photographic evidence.

 

See my album on Fistulina hepatica.

[Treecreeper1961]

See my album on Fistulina hepatica.

 

Very cool indeed, thanks.

[RobRainford]

just had a good read through this thread, its all very clear to me now, ill be going through the i. dryadeus thread too to make sure that ones solved, but im pretty close on that, it doesnt seem as complicated as this blighter.

 

big thanks to you tony so far for what youve shown me, and to all the other contributors especially Gerrit for his very informative posts!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I have been meaning to post this image for some time, I believe it belongs to treecreeper? and I am long overdue answering his question as to what I am seeing in this image that got me sooooo excited.

 

Yes I know I am a bit of a wierdo!

 

Basicaly what we see here is a slice/ring of oak, what else we see is what is known as "brown oak" caused by the very slow rot of fistulina hepatica, which in my opinion has evolved alongside Oaks robur/petrea and also castanea sativas as a very special and intimate co evolutionary relationship that is seldom very detrimental to the longevity of Oaks, I might even suggest Fistulina increases the longevity of These trees and hence the oldest of our veteran/ancient oaks in the U.K display very obvious body languages I have come to know of this relationship.

 

To my Peers who are listening, you can slate my objectivity, you may doubt my knowledge and capacity, but It matters not one bit, because sooner or later I will prove this and you will wonder why |YOU couldnt see what has been staring you in the face for donkies years!

 

so image, check this out, look at the OBVIOUS brown rot, low degradation, perfect "brown Oak" THEN observe the break outs and staining from 2 locations of the heart wood, and then look at the burring and extension/increment growth at this point.

 

This isnt scientificaly speaking the proof THEY need, but it is all I need to stop worrying and feeling insecure when certain folk tell me its impossible its improbible because it goes against THEIR current thinking.

 

[David Humphries]

so image, check this out, look at the OBVIOUS brown rot, low degradation, perfect "brown Oak" THEN observe the break outs and staining from 2 locations of the heart wood, and then look at the burring and extension/increment growth at this point.

 

This isnt scientificaly speaking the proof THEY need, but it is all I need to stop worrying and feeling insecure when certain folk tell me its impossible its improbible because it goes against THEIR current thinking.

 

 

 

Tony, It might be of benefit to some to try and expand on what you believe is happening here with the "break outs"

 

A large percentage of your watchers might not get the link.

 

Just a thought

 

 

 

.