daltontrees

D'oh. I take the point, if a complaint asrises crown reduction could take the trees outwith the definition in the Act. You have done me a big favour, thanks, I could advise clients in that way. That oscillating in/out of legislation thing was exactly what I was envisaging. I have the sorts of clients who would relish the devilment of winding neighbours up.

I will investigate what they were growing on, I tool the picture with my 4 year old daughter in tow and as ever had no opportunity to linger and contemplate. I tooka a semi-mature holly out 2 years ago in the bed and put in lots and lots of coarse mulch from the local recycling place. 40cm topsoil on glacial clays. Will say more if I can refine my observations.

Gosh, two replies!! Give me a few minutes, hours, days or years to get back to you on this.

Nice to have someone reply on this. Yes, I was thinking specifically about Slater and Harbinson 'Towards a new model of branch attachment' (AJ, 2010) when i said 'where vessels cross, something has to give'. I suppose I should have been more precise and said 'something has to be compromised or some special adaptation has to take place to allow ongoing biomechanical angd physiological integrity', but then everyone would have run away screaming. The generality of the dilemma stands. though. When wood overlaps, it can't just put on an outer ring every year.

That's entirely possible as a solution. But, when the law comes in for the first time we could have 200 year old Beech trees with heights of 30 metres (yes, not 30 feet) and stem diameters at 2 metres height of around 1 metre, coming into the definition of a high hedge. I expect the law is well intended but I astill think it is ill-considered when it will be used by people who have harboured agfrievance about deciduous tree shade for maybe 20 or 40 years.

You're right in a way but (Pedantry alert!) if canopy separation was specified as an action it would then take the hedge outwith the statutory definition of a high hedge. It would then not be competent for the LPA to also impose preventative action to stop the problem recurring.

With veruccas.

Aleuria aurantia in my front garden.

Here's a lovely example of spiral structure. I would only be speculating about species, as the tree has been dead a long time.

Sorry for jumping in, but just wanted to say thanks for the link, it was a good read over breakfast. The article refers to work by D. Lonsdale. I don't recall him calling it anythiung specific. The term Braided seems very apt. However, until it is demonstrated that the extra wood in this braided form is there as a partial or entire self-optimising reaction to loads I would be hesitant to use the word Reaction too. After all, it may be a growth abnormality. So, Braided Wood seems a good term. The problem I have always had in trying to understand it is that where vessels cross, something has to give. The way that trees cope with this at side limb unions or even at the inside of forks is as far as I know not well understood. Braiding presents a fascinating theoretical and actual dilemma for the tree to manage the crossing of vessels and the additional of annual incrementsi. My hunch is that if it has any self-optimising outcome it is the avoidance of unnecessary bulk in the interbraid areas rathe than additional strength in the braids. Someday I would love to have a braided tree that has already been marked for removal and inject the braids at the base with dyes then dissect it.

It will be genuinely interesting to see how the powers that be work out how to calculate the light levels when deciduous trees are involved. And adjusting the overall light thresholds to account for more northerly latitude. Plus eventually how the courts work round the deficiencies in the drafting of the legislation. The more I think about it the more I realise a couple of legal cases are going to be needed to clarify the law. The burning question is, if you have a line of broadleaves that block out lots of light in summer (so much so that if they were evergreen the English legislation would have them cut down) but in winter they block next to no light, do the two cancel out? The question cannot be answered by the legislation as it stands.

What a fabulous find! Michael Kuo's website mentions that this species probably came to California with imported bamboo. Must have done the same at Colchester?

Oh FFS I don't think I'll bother trying that widowmaker cut. By the time you had been up there and taken all the branches off you could have had that tree on the deck a few times over without the showboating. I remember doing some windblow clearance a couple of years ago, the forest floor was strewn with biggish stuff and brash at every angle to about waist height and winching was just not an option. In amongst it all was dead standing timber, we tried to knock it over but it hung up at about 85 degrees, still attached at the butt. Did dart cuts to drop it 2 metres, it still was hung up. Did an elaborate double sink cut to throw the butt sideways. It was still hung up. Darted another 2 metres off it. Still hung up. And so on, 10 times. Eventually got the thing down to 7 or 8 metres, basically the crown on a vertical stick and it still wouldn't come down. Then set about it like a beserker till it was matchsticks. And then had to take a 10 minute break to (i) recover and (ii) think about how to avoid that ever ever happening again. Never did though.

Lovely and neat. I live in fear of downward split barber's chairs in that situation that could pin you and the wire strop to the tree.

Hideous, it's so exhausting. Sometimes we just use a 4:1 pulley system instead of a winch as it's easier to move around and weighs very little and is quick. Trick is to anchor it off a tree at about head height and it helps lift the butt instead of ploughing the forest floor. Good luck with that, rather you than me.

COuld be early stages of Laetiporous sulphureus, I say that only because I posted something recently about a rubbery substance within a White Willow that someone reckoned was L.s. BY now all the L.s up here is bleached and crumbling, but maybe yours will develop over the next few days. That wound should allow you to assess amount of decent wood left and whether there is any urgency or whether you can afford to wait and see.

That's impressive up a tree. Did you bore it dogtooth style?

That is helpful to know. It certainly rules out phantom barbecuers. And most environmental causes except insofar as Pat Ferrett has said individuals of the same species can cope very variably with stresses like drought.

Early days, in a few days the caps may be mature and, according at least to Mushroom expert, a coarse distinction can be made between ostoyae having prominent scales and mellea having no or tiny scales (or fibrillose meaning covered in tiny fibres).

It may just be drougght symptoms. Has it been particularly dry and maybe windy at the same time? Does close examination show that the damage is on isolated trees in the hedge? If so and if it is drought damage then there may be some underlying reason why those trees are not doung as well as the others, perhaps as suggested in Strouts something like compaction.

Thieving gits! If they put that much energy, vehicle and ingenuity into running a real business they'd probably do quite well. It is sickening when what you have worked for and built up by honest toil disappears. I had a Husky 346 and a Stihl 271 nicked from my truck 3 weeks ago. Parked at the back of my house and locked. I probably have to work about 3 weeks to make enough profit to buy replacements. When I think that I am working for those thieving scumbags it makes me very angry. Oh to meet them and catch them at it.

Now there's a tree that is cowering like it has been beaten regularly by the wind. It's a joy to see so many 'haws' on it.

If it helps, the official British Mycological Society names are Leucopaxillus giganteus and Giant Funnel. Phillips confirms the synonym C. gigantea. Sad git that i am I still know a bit of latin. Leuco mneans white or colourless. A paxilla is a pillar or a stake. Giganteus, without the benefit of a full classical education, I guess means huge. Nice find. Aparently rare and edible. Wouldn't chance it myself, some of the similar clitocybes are seemingly dodgy.

Quality!

Possibilities could still include ash decline due to agricultural ploughing or the application of herbicides on the agricultural land or spraying of the tennis courts.