Giles Hill

That's the one Steve, the others are in Gt Cornard (Sudbury) and Shelland (Nr Stowmarket)

Just read the other thread and saw you'd been busy Sean. I'd been politely waiting for you to start a NBP tree of the month.

An old trooper:

This thread is for the rare and beautiful wonky Native Black Poplars NOT nasty straight hybrid poplars. Here's some facts I copied from Black Poplar | RFS : The native black poplar, Populus nigra betulifolia, is a rare British tree which until recently had been almost forgotten by foresters and naturalists for 150 years. The native black poplar lapsed from being a useful producer of materials for the agricultural community before 1800 into almost complete obscurity by the mid twentieth century. The timber was used for wagon bottoms and stable partitions and even buffers on early railway carriages because it can withstand shock loads well. Material from pollards was used in basket making and for stakes, rails, scaffold poles and rafters. Smaller material was used for faggots for burning in ovens. Early summer shoots were cut from pollards and dried for winter fodder. Its existence today is almost entirely due to its economic value in the medieval economy and its ability to regenerate from fallen trees, branches and damaged roots in the few relict riverside sites where it survives. Originally a tree of flood plains and river banks, the natural habitat of the native black poplar has practically disappeared, largely destroyed by river drainage works. So many different poplar hybrids have been planted in Britain during the last two hundred years that no forester, nurseryman or botanist can be expected to identify them all. To confuse the issue, the native tree displays a degree of variation or plasticity as well. But the distinctive shape and large size of the native black poplar - often growing alone by a farm in a lowland English river valley - are a give-away to anyone familiar with it. Many species of tree have both male and female flowers on the same plant - they are called monoecious. But black poplar is dioecious - individual trees are either male or female. There are only a few hundred female trees in Britain and not many of these are growing alongside males. Natural seedlings are virtually unknown. Markets for most of the above have disappeared or are now supplied by substitutes but apart from being a magnificent fast-growing landscape tree, the native black poplar may have a bright future for figured veneer production. Here are some ident links: Essex Biodiversity Project - Black or Water poplar http://www.cheshire-biodiversity.org.uk/useful-resources/pdf%20black%20poplar%20id%20(Read-Only).pdf And here are some pics: Summer & winter (same tree): A fairly biggun - check out the adjacent powerlines A real biggun:

Woodchip probably has the advantage of being free and readily available. Also I think it would probably be more resistant erosion from foot traffic and wind - it looks an exposed site. And it can be topped up easily, as you would play surfaces, without the need for buying in and mixing materials, this would make it a very simple task meaning it can be a more routine operation.

Sloth you've just reminded me that the BS5837 practical on the tech cert last year was one of the maddest ''work'' scenarios I've ever found myself dealing with and completely unlike any BS5837 work I've done before or since. I learnt a lot doing the course, but that part of the exam was quite frustrating.

mmm... I guess you'd be less of a dryad and more of a Dr Yad.

I think it's self-optimising in response to the decay on the underside of the roots. And it's doing that road cone thing. Do I get a peanut? I was looking at a field boundary oak with a similar formation, no evidence of fruit bodies, but I suspect it was a response to decay... I should have taken some pics.

You could do it as part of an online degree. It's a two year course. I think the online tech cert was about £600 or £700 - I imagaine this would be double? It'd certainly be a lot less than 10 grand. http://www.myerscough.ac.uk/?page=course-search&action=factsheet&reference=10BSARBMYO01P&query=&html-title=BSc%20(Hons)%20Arboriculture%20On-Line%20Final%20Year%20Direct%20Entry

If only I'd taken the time to look at the arbtalk guide, I would found a very similar image to the 2nd pic. Inonotus dryadeus - David Humphries’s Fungi Directory - Arbtalk.co.uk | Discussion Forum for Arborists

Thanks Tony, I was basing my guess on the 2nd pic - I'll file the point about the cracking on the underside for future reference. So, you managed to keep up your resolution of not advising on decay related matters for almost 2 days!

I'll venture Ganoderma resinaceum while you're waiting for someone who knows what they're talking about.

I'm only aware of a few Trametes species and they all seem to fruit directly on standing or fallen wood. Are there any forms of Trametes that commonly fruit through the ground? If there is one presumably it would have some relationship to tree roots?

Thanks Tony, it's not an entry as mentioned above, just joining in!

These aren't a competition entry, just posting for novelty value as they're the first I've seen in the flesh... Geastrum fimbriatum I believe - looks like I missed their prime by a couple of days.

Rule 3: Be careful when you're trying to be funny. The pub comment was about me. I had a pint after playing football last night, came in all full of drunken camaraderie and posted 'wise words mate' before passing out in a pool of vomit.

Rule 2, don't post after you've been to the pub! On the whole though, I think Hama's advice was good i.e. Ideally get an 'expert'. If however the client is not prepared to pay for an expert you can either walk away (loose the client) or advise them as best you can. If you decide on the latter, then you are relying on your own experience (which doesn't cover this situation) coupled with some well meaning but inconclusive words of wisdom from a few interested people looking at photos... Under these circumstances, I think the second part of Hama's post was fair enough in that he was providing reassurance, that If the owner is not prepared to pay for an expert opinion and is looking to you for a decision, then felling would be justifiable and given the apparent circumstances perhaps the most sensible.

Wise words mate!

In that case the real problem will be the lack of space.

Hamadryad has given you the answer. You will have to forgive the other comments but I don't imagine they were intended to be personal. To put things in context, most of the regular posters on this forum are arborists and to them a fungus is only a problem if it is associated with a hazard - i.e. a risk of injury or damage to property. The fungi in your picture are not threatening your client's plants, they are just nature making an appearance in a fairly sterile environment. Basically, if you have soil, then you are likely to have fungi present. The majority of the fungal organism is hidden and you only become aware of them when they form fruiting bodies - 'toad-stalls' in this case. The toad-stalls are only temporary, they come out when the weather conditions are suitable, the bit below the ground - the mycelium is permanent. I'd advise tour client that the fungi are not harmful, if anything they are likely to be beneficial to the plants (look up 'mycorrizal fungi') there is not a great deal that can be done without making the whole area sterile, for example by concreting it over. You can remove the fruit-bodies as they appear, if they are considered unsightly.

Having got to know your ' observe and learn from nature style' I did wonder if it was something along those lines. It sounds like you've come to a different conclusion then, or maybe it's something to do with to your third form. I use the safe but dull 'learn from books' approach and mostly rely on other peoples accepted theories - until someone else has a better theory!

Good stuff, I don't know how we survived before Google. It can make for frustrating fungi searches though as the quality of sources is so variable.

Tony, I'd not had a chance to look at this thread before, but I searched it out after also stumbling on JFL's article (diverted whilst checking out his THREATs system). You've got some great pictures and thought provoking stuff as usual... But I think you may have misinterpreted which form he considers to be the aggressive one i.e. I believe the first of the following two descriptions is the nasty one: Photographs 1 and 2 (P1 & P2 respectively) show what I contend are two very different forms of Meripilus. The first form, as per P1, occurs as the typical profuse specimen, generally being located ca. 1-3m from the stem base (though not always, as in this case), and commonly found in multiple clusters. In terms of colouration, it quickly ripens from light fawn when fresh to a rich brown, and the frond margins are relatively acute in profile, with the whole tending towards a lax, spreading habit. And this is the cuddly one: The second form, as per P2, typically occurs as a single cluster, tucked well in to a root buttress canyon, or adjacent to the stem. I have only ever seen this form exhibit a paler colouration than the other form, with frond margins being notably rounded in profile, and the fruitbody generally being tighter packed. (For another photograph of this form, see Plate 80 in David Lonsdale’s ‘Principles of Tree Hazard Assessment and Management’.) It may be a coincidence, but I have never observed this form occurring on a tree in apparent ill health. It is an intriguing article, but I don't think it is very clear on which is which - I'm just going on the last sentence of the second quote.

I've not seen or heard of it before... Just a persistent hunt through the books and found Postia stiptica in Michael Jordan's book, which almost matched Matt's pic, but not quite. How did you find Postia ptychogaster Matt? It looks a good bet based on a quick google search.

Do I get little star?