Beech & Pholiota aurivella thread

[Fungus]

Some examples from a beech forest I monitored yesterday, of how much decay the mycelium of Pholiota aurivella can cause in bifurcated beeches or in the central wood column of beeches, with the mycelium only fruiting from the surface of the split or from old wounds of pruned branches after the tree has split because of the decay by P. aurivella or completely fallen because of an infection of the trunk's base with Meripilus giganteus.

In the last photo, Diatrype stigma has already partially decorticated the beech and has started soft rotting the dead sapwood outside in.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I am wondering about this fungi, wondering if it has the potential to use a soft rot mode to infiltrate large wood volumes and turning to a white rot as an when, as with ash/hispidus and beech/meripilus.

 

How else could this little fungus be associated with so many failures, often with a brittle surface fracture?

[Fungus]

I am wondering about this fungi, wondering if it has the potential to use a soft rot mode to infiltrate large wood volumes and turning to a white rot as an when, as with ash/hispidus and beech/meripilus.

How else could this little fungus be associated with so many failures, often with a brittle surface fracture?

 

Tony,

I assume you mean Diatrype stigma, a saprotrophic species that is, just like all other Pyrenomycetes or Sphaeriales, only capable of producing soft rot, which is in this case directed outside in. The central decay and cavity is caused by Pholiota aurivella, that is visible in the fifth picture fruiting from the opposite side of the trunk.

Edited October 19, 2011 by Fungus

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

No and sorry for the confusion I meant the P. aurivella. I am very interested in this fungi and its strategies, I have seen a few major stem failures with some soft rot characteristics involving pholiota aurivella.

[Fungus]

a few major stem failures with some soft rot characteristics involving Pholiota aurivella.

 

Tony,

Soft rot has never been documented from any Pholiota species (yet), so you need microscopical evidence to support your suggestion.

IME, the brown decoloration of the white rot decay is caused by rain entering the acute fork from above or moisture accumulating in the wound cavity coming from aside or been transported inward by (the stipes of) the FB's sticking out (see photo).

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