Can anyone help id funghi pls

[Marc Lewis]

The 2 images show each side of the trunk.

[Arctostaphylos uva-ursi]

It looks pretty exposed. I would probably advocate felling it.

[Marc Lewis]

Thanks A u-u, my thoughts too. It is naturally a weak area of the tree and with the live ganoderma bracket there also.

[David Humphries]

It looks pretty exposed. I would probably advocate felling it.

 

I agree

 

 

 

 

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[Paul Melarange]

Hi Marc, sorry for the delay in replying. I think the union is the main issue and one which certainly requires some remedial action, felling being a reasonable option.

 

The presence of the fungal fruiting bodies is interesting. I wonder if the dead bracket indicates a small zone of dysfuntional/dried wood that was colonised by the fungus and has now been fully compartmentalised. If the fungus has exhausted that substrate it will probably die. I'm just hypothesising by the way. I hope David might have some thoughts on this?

[Paul Barton]

Also consider the site history with regard to tree failures. It looks like one of the adjacent beeches has suffered a large failure from a weak union....as the tree you are asking about has tight forks and a decay fungus present it seems fairly likely that the same could happen.

[KTSmith]

Keep in mind that the brackets are simply reproductive structures. Even species of Ganoderma, which can produce perennial brackets, aren't bound to do so! Brackets are shed while the fungal thallus is happy working away on the cell walls within.

Also, Ganoderma can grow in culture and dead wood, excised from the tree. The infection may be well-compartmentalized, but that is not the explanation for the dead or shed brackets!