Grifola frondosa assessment with a thermo twist!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I spent the day @ Knole house with Andrew Cowan yesterday and we came by a rather interesting tree, this oak first drew my attention because of its high fruiting (possibly aborted) of inonotus dryadeus, whilst I was getting ready for a free climb andy noticed something at the same time i did further round. Grifola frondosa, as we cleared the bracken we found grifola clumps almost completley gridling the oaks root system at equal distances from root crown.

 

The first thing that struck me was the immense size of the fronds of one of the clumps, and the gradualy dwindling and poor form of the clumps as we followed them around the stem.

 

It dawned on me that maybe the inonotus was high due to the root crown having been "claimed" by the Grifola frondosa, forcing inonotus into a high residence!

 

Now, i was looking at the root compensation, i had long suspected of this fungi as an expression in body language, a widening and low profile of the buttress and roots. I was just thinking argh yes theres the adaption when Andy pointed out how the decay was showing up on the thermo imaging camera. So what became apparent and was likje a eureka moment for me was that these grifolas where poor and plentyfull because they where PANIC fruiting! the thermo image reveals that the root compensation is from an earlier time when the tree was in better health in wealthier times, now however the root system is almost completely decayed away and only a few channels of vascular connection to the soil remain, probably advantageous/reiterative roots from the horseshoe shaped remains of the roots.

 

We confirmed it by finding the fruiting point of one of the brackets, directly through the upper bark of a major surface root.

 

We talked about options, and it was clear that a very much lower crown frame work existed that was very green and viable, and i am certain the upper crown is not being supported and in effect shutting down while the remaining reiterative roots supply the lower canopy in preparation for the loss of its upper crown. The other scenario is it will blow down at the root crown soil contact!

 

also maybe this another extreme case of two benign fungi wreaking havoc in the fight for territory? does the combination complicate the strategies?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2011 by Tony Croft aka hamadryad

[sloth]

Nice day out by the looks of it interesting post and tree, is this the MTA you mention in another thread earlier?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Nice day out by the looks of it interesting post and tree, is this the MTA you mention in another thread earlier?

 

 

well i cant really call it that, but you know!

 

it is what it is

[David Humphries]

Any shots of the aborted dryadeus, or did you get too distracted to get any ?

 

 

 

 

.

[BatiArb]

Any shots of the aborted dryadeus, or did you get too distracted to get any ?

.

 

 

Here you go......

[David Humphries]

Hi Andrew

 

 

any tubers from the frondosa, like on the one you excavated with Ted ?

 

 

 

.

[BatiArb]

Any shots of the aborted dryadeus, or did you get too distracted to get any ? .

 

Try again.....

[David Humphries]

Try again.....

 

What's the weird growth hanging off the tree on the lhs ?

 

 

 

.

[Gollum]

Is that Knole house, in Sevenoaks,?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Try again.....

 

One thing that shot does show is just how thin the shell is on this.