What's this?

[High Scale]

This was on a very big Tree of Heaven that I will be taking down soon with a hoist, it looks like King Alfred Cake but I don't know, I am just a simple climber, what do you think?

 

Sorry about the picture quality.

[Marc]

Where did you find it? I found some similar ones on the exposed roots before, the roots were damaged by a lawn mower.

[High Scale]

They were on the base of the trunk.

[Amelanchier]

That'll be Xylaria spp. mate. Probably Xylaria polymorpha.

 

And I think that's an Electrolux Dishwasher but I could be wrong, the picture quality is a bit off...

[Peter]

Get off, thats a washing machine! Tsk tsk....

[bob]

sorry to diverse did a big dead ash last week full of alfreds but they semp to have died gone all brittle and when you touched them they went to powder is this a sign of how dead the tree was or what?

never seen them like this before

[High Scale]

That'll be Xylaria spp. mate. Probably Xylaria polymorpha.

 

And I think that's an Electrolux Dishwasher but I could be wrong, the picture quality is a bit off...

 

Pete is right, it's a washing machine.

 

Thanks Tony any more info? I have mislaid my id book.

[Amelanchier]

But is it an Electrolux? Its the genus that really matters!!!

 

I had a thread a couple o' months ago about it on beech. There is a link to notes on its decay mode.

 

http://www.arbtalk.co.uk/showthread.php?t=298

 

So basically, not great but not the worst! Dismantle from a platform should be fine IMHO. Ailanthus is pretty hardcore, I shoudn't imagine there is a decay issue from this fungus.

[High Scale]

The tree has a healthy lean, has a stable block directly below, a nice cottage about three foot to the right of it, nice brittle tree at the best of times, should be fun.

[A_N_Other]

As an ascomycyte (a 'spitter') it could be that the dusr you saw was actually the fruiting body sporulating. Once the spores are released they tend to break down very quickly. Bring a whole one in the warm and watch over a couple of weeks.