Collybia fusipes

[Glen Poole]

Evening all, last week i noticed these around the base of an English Oak on the green outside my house. What i would like to know is if anybody can share any experiences they have with this Fungi? I know that the decay affects the viability of the roots & crown symptoms are becoming visable but can't find any info about what type of decay? The tree is around 18 m tall & if it were to fail (can't find any evidence that it leads to tree failure) it would end up in my living room, any experiences shared will be some great help

[David Humphries]

Hello Glen,

 

we have a number of mature Oaks in one of our woods (coppice hornbeam/Oak standards) that have failed at the roots & fallen (both wind blown & still) with what appeared to only be Collybia fusipes in attendance (fruit bodies)

 

Perhaps Armillaria may also have been around but not confirmed.

 

This wood also has Griffola frondosa on a number of the Oaks, but not noted as having fruited on the failed trees as far as I know.

 

 

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[Glen Poole]

Thanks for the reply David, should internal or root investigation be the next course of action or because the tree is in a high target area would it be safe in saying it should be removed? i hope not, would crown reduction works help or is it only a matter of time before it becomes too unsafe in its environment? many thanks, also David i met a friend of yours called Lawrence i think? on the three day prep course with Treelife, really great bloke. Spoke very highly of you, cheers.

[Fungus]

last week i noticed these around the base of an English Oak on the green outside my house. What i would like to know is if anybody can share any experiences they have with this Fungi? I know that the decay affects the viability of the roots & crown symptoms are becoming visable but can't find any info about what type of decay? The tree is around 18 m tall & if it were to fail (can't find any evidence that it leads to tree failure) it would end up in my living room, any experiences shared will be some great help

 

Glen,

Collybia fusipes is a biotrophic parasite, slowly killing the tree and meanwhile making the tree unstable by simultaneous white rot of the roots, buttresses and/or trunk base, see my Quercus robur & Collybia fusipes thread for some photo's of different phases of bark necrosis and shedding of bark on oaks affected by Collybia fusipes.

As for your question on taking measures, it's difficult to give an advice without seeing the tree in situ, maybe David or Tony, who have much more experience with the effects of C. fusipes on the stability of oaks, because in The Netherlands and Germany its not a common phenomenon (yet), can help out.

[Glen Poole]

Many thanks Gerrit, much appreciated

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

In my personal experience colybia (and ive seen a lot) tends to be a secondary, even third issue, often in association with Fistulina hepatica, and ALL the failures involveing colybia that ive see have also shown the melanine plates at the root fractures that are more connected/associated with armillaria.

 

I t definatley is a root rot, but it is confined only to the sap wood region of the roots, trees that fail have a very specific form when weathered.

 

I wouldnt say colybia was the enemy, more a symptom of more serious issues, i think trees can live for a very long time with colybia in their root areas. as with the vast majority of the fungi of trees it is tree vitality thast appears to be the major factor in survivability of a particular colonisation via principle decay pathogens

[David Humphries]

In my personal experience colybia (and ive seen a lot) tends to be a secondary, even third issue, often in association with Fistulina hepatica, and ALL the failures involveing colybia that ive see have also shown the melanine plates at the root fractures that are more connected/associated with armillaria.

 

It definatley is a root rot, but it is confined only to the sap wood region of the roots, trees that fail have a very specific form when weathered.

 

I wouldnt say colybia was the enemy, more a symptom of more serious issues, i think trees can live for a very long time with colybia in their root areas. as with the vast majority of the fungi of trees it is tree vitality thast appears to be the major factor in survivability of a particular colonisation via principle decay pathogens

 

 

Agree with Tony here

 

 

David i met a friend of yours called Lawrence i think? on the three day prep course with Treelife, really great bloke. Spoke very highly of you, cheers.

 

 

Lawrence Usherwood ?

Brent Tree Officer here in London

Occasional member on here, good guy.

 

Let me ghost him at his offfice & out and about on his patch a few months ago

 

 

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[Glen Poole]

That's the fella, nice bloke. I was having a quick look through my AA Fungi on Trees ID book whilst doing a Woodland Management exercise when we got talking & he pointed out to me that you had taken & provided the photographs in it. I have to say that it is an excellent easy to use little book & the photos are superb.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

That's the fella, nice bloke. I was having a quick look through my AA Fungi on Trees ID book whilst doing a Woodland Management exercise when we got talking & he pointed out to me that you had taken & provided the photographs in it. I have to say that it is an excellent easy to use little book & the photos are superb.

 

nah it must be rubbish, i havent got a single photo innit!

[David Humphries]

That's the fella, nice bloke. I was having a quick look through my AA Fungi on Trees ID book whilst doing a Woodland Management exercise when we got talking & he pointed out to me that you had taken & provided the photographs in it. I have to say that it is an excellent easy to use little book & the photos are superb.

 

The original run is now nearly sold out, a second edition will probably be going to print sometime this year.

 

Glad you like it

 

 

 

nah it must be rubbish, i havent got a single photo innit!

 

Keep practicing with the old box brownie, and you too could one day grace the pages of academia my fungoid friend

 

 

 

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