The demise of a lime - in pictures

[armybloke]

I found this lime in Parham Park and took a sequence of photos that hopefully will tell the story of its death. I am open to suggestions of course.

 

The cavity within the trunk started as a branch wound quite high in to the tree. Polyporus squamosus taking hold in the first instance.

 

Armillaria sp is present throughout the cavity with the very obvious 'boot laces' covering a considerable surface area. I am surmising that this made it eventually fall over.

 

P. Squamosus was evident from root to cavity top in whorls of fungal fruiting bodies and these must have been there for some time before the tree finally fell over as they are of a good size. They are evident throughout the cavity remaining within the plane that they grew. Some smaller FFBs appeared after it had fallen too as these are growing on a different plane.

 

A Ganoderma sp then took over after it fell as these are evident on the plane that the tree fell over. Sulphur tuft grows outside the tree now and a large unidentifiable FFB lay on the floor at the base. I should imagine kicked off as this is a lovely children's 'play-tree'.

 

PS I am sorry for some of the picture quality - Nokias for you !

[Fungus]

this lime The cavity within the trunk started as a branch wound quite high in to the tree. Polyporus squamosus taking hold in the first instance.

1. Armillaria sp is present throughout the cavity with the very obvious 'boot laces' covering a considerable surface area. I am surmising that this made it eventually fall over.

A Ganoderma sp then took over after it fell as these are evident on the plane that the tree fell over.

2. a large unidentifiable FFB lay on the floor at the base.

 

1. I don't think, it was the Armillaria, that made the tree finally fall over, but the Ganoderma undermining the tree base and the buttresses.

2. I can't help you out on the overbaked pancake laying on the floor of the base.

 

And were there no teleomorphs present of K. deusta ?

[armybloke]

Oh bother, I did not think to check....learning though, so thank you for the help.