Rhizomorphs / Armillaria on Oak.

Went down into the woods today and found some rather spectacular rhizomorphs.

HONEY FUNGUS - a number of species of Armillaria are found in Britain, this one is A. mellea. Like most pathogens, honey fungus benefits if the host tree is weakened through some other factor first. In this case the woodland in Defford, Worcestershire is prone to poor drainage. It’s mainly a forest fungi (can be fairly common in suburban gardens) that can live in the stumps or root systems of infected trees and can spread through the soil and leaf litter via their root-like structures or rhizomorphs, nicknamed bootlaces.

A good little link….

http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/Mycology/StructureFunction/rhizomorphs.shtml

Great find and photies Johnny

What species of Oak was it on?

Was it completely dead?

FC have always thought Oak to be fairly if not resistant to Armillaria.

Here's A . mellea on the infamous Fulham Oak, and the Rhizomorphs from a dead trunk of Turners Oak adjacent to it.

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Its in some woodland I coppice from time to time. It's mixed, Ash and Q. robur, the whole woodland is rife with the stuff...real shame.

I can only put it down to the poor drainage and the Oaks being in a state of stress. If you look across the woodland you can make out that the land used to be Ridge and Furrow. (The Oaks on the ridge are fine, the Oaks in the furrows are mostly infected).

….and yes, it's very dead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_and_furrow

Oh dear, Oh dear......I guess Monkeyd and myself are the only people to find fungi sexy. You lot dont know what your missing! :laugh1:

Oh dear, Oh dear......I guess Monkeyd and myself are the only people to find fungi sexy. You lot dont know what your missing! :laugh1:

Perhaps there are some closet mycophiles hiding who just like watching!

Perhaps there are some closet mycophiles hiding who just like watching!

WIERDO alert WIERDO alert WIERDO alert WIERDO alert WIERDO alert WIERDO alert

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I seem to recall reading or hearing (radio 4) that the rhizomorphs, of honey fungus, that extend out in the soil searching for a host if dug up while still alive fluoresce in the dark, and in the years before electric they would hang them in barns to provide light.

And that this is the origin of the idea of a magic wand, have any of you guys heard of this??

I seem to recall reading or hearing (radio 4) that the rhizomorphs, of honey fungus, that extend out in the soil searching for a host if dug up while still alive fluoresce in the dark, and in the years before electric they would hang them in barns to provide light.

 

And that this is the origin of the idea of a magic wand, have any of you guys heard of this??

cool fact huck, that will win me a pub quiz. come on boys, is it true?

SWB, I think all the shroom boys have gone beddy byes, we'll have wait till the morning.

I'm off to sleep my self, catch you later mate

SWB, I think all the shroom boys have gone beddy byes, we'll have wait till the morning.

QUOTE]

 

 

 

Just awoken and returned from the Far Far away of Mycodreamland, where I'm really a pixie called Fred and spend the dark hours prancing about with the woodland folk, on a giant applanatum bracket, lit up by the luminecent light of the moon

 

 

I had been aware of this but don't remember the context or reference.

 

Here's a wee little explanation I found

 

The natural phenomenon of bioluminescence is the emission of visible light by living organisms mediated by an enzyme-catalysed (‘luciferase’) reaction of molecular oxygen with a substrate (‘luciferin’). Bioluminescent organisms are diverse and widely distributed in nature, for example bacteria, dinoflagellates, fungi and insects. The luciferases show no homology to each other and the luciferins are also chemically unrelated. Molecular oxygen is the only common feature of bioluminescence reactions, indicating that the luminescent systems in most organisms may have evolved independently (Wilson & Hastings, 1998).

 

 

 

 

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