Tis the season to see Fungi, fa la la la la....

[Fungus]

Having seen the failure of a minor branch which had seemingly developed as a result of earlier work (reduction of a major limb - some time ago i assume given extent of decay in section of old limb extending beyond the minor branch) with consequent limited connective tissue, i had returned to tidy it up and was surprised to see catastrophic failure of a much larger limb.

This had survived the worst days of the recent high winds and must only have failed at the very tail end. The fault hadn't been identified when looking at the tree from ground level, and appears to have been the result of damage from an earlier tear out on the upper side of the limb. The decay had set and extended up the limb by two metres or more causing extensive softening of the heartwood.

I noticed these small fungal fbs in the compost that was once branch. Can you id? Are they primary or secondary in nature? I expect to return to examine the remainder of the branch to look and perhaps probe for decay into the main stem - any advice you could offer?

 

This is an often happening limb failure in - from a "wood mechanical" viewpoint - unstable bi- or multifurcated beeches, caused by the mycelium and rhizomorphs and/or plaques (the black melanin layer in the second and fourth photo) of necrotrophic parasitic Armillaria species, which is mostly A. mellea on beech.

The pale brown coloured white rot caused by the Honey Fungus can make the tree unstable in itself, but on top of that, beeches often react with the formation of secundary roots growing towards and into the moist rot to uptake water and nutrients. When the roots become thicker, they start pushing the poorly connected intermediate zones of the fork apart, leading to what has happened to your beech.

Once Armillaria mellea has invaded parts of the tree, there is no way of stopping it from spreading further into and via the living tissues and dead wood of the tree.

Also see my Beech & Honey Fungus thread.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Fungus

[sloth]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but is the tree in question not an oak? Also, is it normal for armillaria to be present high in a trees crown? Not sure I've seen it up high before. Any idea what the little shroom is? Sorry to be a pain! Thanks

[Fungus]

1. is the tree in question not an oak?

2. Also, is it normal for armillaria to be present high in a trees crown? Not sure I've seen it up high before.

3. Any idea what the little shroom is?

 

Sloth,

1. As there was no tree species mentioned and because of the smooth bark of the trunk, I assumed it was a beech, but even if it is an oak, my above analysis of the cause of the limb failure still is valid.

2. Yes, quite normal in the situation of unstable limb joints of Fagus and Quercus robur/rubra, as is the case with this tree.

3. Armillaria mellea/ostoyae fruiting from the mycelium, that is white rotting the wood and partially covered with black melanin layers.

For the interaction of Armillaria and Quercus, see my Quercus robur & Armillaria ostoyae thread.

[Fungus]

This is an often happening limb failure in - from a "wood mechanical" viewpoint - unstable bi- or multifurcated beeches, caused by the mycelium of Armillaria species.

 

In beech, the same type of limb failure can be caused by the mycelium of Pholiota aurivella white rotting the dead wood of the unstable joint of two limbs (see photo).

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[David Humphries]

Quick blast round this morning to gather a group of specimens for a workshop I'm giving at work over the next couple of days.

 

 

.

[RobArb]

Must be the neatest desk ever:biggrin:

 

Whats the green book that just says "arboriculture" called and by (author)?

 

Sent from Rob's GalaxySII

[David Humphries]

Must be the neatest desk ever:biggrin:

 

Whats the green book that just says "arboriculture" called and by (author)?

 

Sent from Rob's GalaxySII

 

I managed to wipe off the majority of detritus & various different mycelium to make space for the fb's

 

 

 

tis 'Arboriculture' Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, shrubs & vines - Forth edition 2004

 

Harris, Clark & Matheny

 

 

.

[armybloke]

Carrying on the theme from my 6 year old daughter - these are her latest. She has enrolled on a digital camera course as an after-school club so I hope these pics will get better in time. Oh and that's her climbing 15m up a climbing wall at the weekend!!

[Fungus]

Carrying on the theme from my 6 year old daughter - these are her latest. She has enrolled on a digital camera course as an after-school club so I hope these pics will get better in time.

 

If she wants the species in her pictures identified, more information is needed on the habitat (tree species) and the macroscopical characteristics of the species, that are not visible in the photo's . Otherwise she'll get answers like there is a bolete in three of your pictures .

[sloth]

Sloth,

1. As there was no tree species mentioned and because of the smooth bark of the trunk, I assumed it was a beech, but even if it is an oak, my above analysis of the cause of the limb failure still is valid.

2. Yes, quite normal in the situation of unstable limb joints of Fagus and Quercus robur/rubra, as is the case with this tree.

3. Armillaria mellea/ostoyae fruiting from the mycelium, that is white rotting the wood and partially covered with black melanin layers.

For the interaction of Armillaria and Quercus, see my Quercus robur & Armillaria ostoyae thread.

 

Thank you. So I guess this is one instance where the honey gets a foothold with spores not rhizomorphs? Or would it have traveled such a distance up below the bark?