Old oyster mushroom on a veteran Aesculus?

[Tilia]

Hi guys,

 

found this fruiting body at the bottom of a veteran horse chestnut, and saw there were a few more still attached further up the stem.

 

The only identification I could think of was that they were old Pleurotus conks? They were pretty past it and gelatinous to touch. I also found similar looking conks in a cavity at the base of a lime in the same woodland.

 

Anyone confirm/correct my thoughts?

 

On the same big Aesculus were these little orange/red fellas as well; Velvet shank is my guess...?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

[sloth]

spot on I reckon

 

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[daltontrees]

Pleurotus for the first I would say, common on Horse Chestnut around here. Second (yellower) ones could be Flammulina velutipes.

[Tilia]

Thanks for the responses - now to work out what to do with it!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Thanks for the responses - now to work out what to do with it!

 

the tree or the fungus, the idents are correct, both probably to me suggestive that psuedomona (Horse chestnut bleeding canker) has been and done some serious damage

[daltontrees]

Horse Chestnuts are rubbish, something always gets them. I don't think either of these 2 fungi are that aggressive, more a sign that dead or dying wood is already there for some reason- frost splits, as Hamadryad says Pseudomonas is rife too, also thye just drop big branches for no particular reason and don't heal well, they can get weakened by leaf miners and go into decline after a couple of bad years of that and poor weather.

[Tilia]

Interesting perspectives!

 

I couldn't see any sign of cankers, though absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The main worry is the Pleurotus on the stem, although by my reckoning the target nearby (a road) will be hit only if the base or rootplate fails - if the stem snaps at the height of the currently-visible Pleurotus, it will just fall in the forest.

 

The Flammulina is at the base area, so indicative of dysfunction in that part?

 

And how good is Pleurotus at spreading through the wood - so far I could only see fruiting bodies up the stem, but I'm not sure how good it is at spreading up and down the tree?

 

Cheers for your help guys!

[coleman]

Interesting perspectives!

 

I couldn't see any sign of cankers, though absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The main worry is the Pleurotus on the stem, although by my reckoning the target nearby (a road) will be hit only if the base or rootplate fails - if the stem snaps at the height of the currently-visible Pleurotus, it will just fall in the forest.

 

The Flammulina is at the base area, so indicative of dysfunction in that part?

 

And how good is Pleurotus at spreading through the wood - so far I could only see fruiting bodies up the stem, but I'm not sure how good it is at spreading up and down the tree?

 

Cheers for your help guys!

Pleurotus isnt too agressive, it proberly just feeding off the strips of deadwood. I would only be concerned if the tree is in a really bad way as it is a facultative parasite. Ive only once in my career seen it cause a tree to fail, a fairly large willow.

[JonnyVine]

Yes, pseudomona! It has to be be because it could not possibly be waterlogging, compaction, squirrel damage, insect damage etc, etc.

 

Ayway, Pseudomona sounds better than the latter and adds a certain grandiousness and knowledgable touch to the diagnosis.

 

I am a little confused by the presence of P. ostreatus and F. velutipes being present, I was told by our resident fungal "expert" that these had come to the end of their season months ago!?

 

Strange

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Yes, pseudomona! It has to be be because it could not possibly be waterlogging, compaction, squirrel damage, insect damage etc, etc.

 

Ayway, Pseudomona sounds better than the latter and adds a certain grandiousness and knowledgable touch to the diagnosis.

 

I am a little confused by the presence of P. ostreatus and F. velutipes being present, I was told by our resident fungal "expert" that these had come to the end of their season months ago!?

 

Strange

 

I see your upto your usual Jonny, i told you before that the last time was your last.

 

we have been experiencing a longer colder winter, hence their late appeareces, now do one you antagonistic numpty