2 fungi on one Horse chestnut no idea what second is; anyone?

[Island Lescure]

Spotted on the base and lower stem of a mature but topped and then put in a pollarding cycle horse chestnut.

 

First one I am quite sure is Xylaria polymorpha or dead man's fingers or maybe a close relative?

 

Second I have no idea.

Image 3 is top view

Image 4 is side

5 is bottom

 

The trunk was covered in old brackets which I imagine were from the same fungus. None larger than that one.

 

I imagine that it is also saprophytic, though it was hard to tell if what it was on was dead or alive.

 

Anybody?

 

Thank you

[David Humphries]

Yep, Xylaria for the first one, but may be X. longipes rather than X. polymorpha.

X. longipes is generally more slender.

 

Second looks to be Bjerkendera adusta, the smokey bracket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[daltontrees]

 

Second looks to be Bjerkendera adusta, the smokey bracket.

 

Your splendid fungi directory lists this as saprophytic, but do you know if it is capable of killing wood at the margins? I have been assuming this to be the case but based on fery few occasions where I have had a chance to observe its progression over a couple of years.

[David Humphries]

Your splendid fungi directory lists this as saprophytic, but do you know if it is capable of killing wood at the margins? I have been assuming this to be the case but based on fery few occasions where I have had a chance to observe its progression over a couple of years.

 

Technically it's Arbtalk's 'splendid fungi directory' Jules, but I appreciate the sentiment.

 

Like a lot of the species listed on the directory, the information is garnered by looking through as many of the usual text books and resources I have at hand. This then gets backed up by field observation over the last 10 years or so.

 

Pretty much all the texts state that it's a saprophytic fungi.

Lonsdale, Butin, Mattheck & Webber etc....

 

A couple of these talk of it as an opportunist, invading considerably weakened trees.

This is generally where I see B. adusta develop, specifically in circumstances such as directly after fire damage, branch failures, large prunning wounds and more often than not on dead standing trees where there are root issues.

I think it chases/invades dehydrated wood volumes.

 

 

 

.

[Island Lescure]

Thanks David! The tree is definitely on its last legs.