David Humphries

Meripilus giganteus .

D8 methinks .

No worries, you're welcome my guess would be Xerocomus (Boletus) chrysenteron .

Definitely a Bolete sp as it has pores rather than gills which rules out Amallaria species. But not radicans .

For reference, I've just added a Phellinus robustus (Fomitiporia robusta) gallery to the Fungi Directory which can be found on the yellow tabs on the main Website. Having looked for the species in the UK for a number of years, I finally came across a good number in the Bialowieza National Park Forest on the Poland/Belarus border. Phellinus robustus - Fomitiporia robusta (Robust bracket) - David Humphries’s Fungi Directory - Arbtalk.co.uk | Discussion Forum for Arborists .

Cheers bud, met some Polish arbs who had the Arbtalk fungi app. Small world eh ! .

Ok, then it looks to have pores rather than gills so would rule Armillaria which has gills. I would think it's probably a (mycorrhyzal) Bolete species but it's a bit too desiccated for me to make an Id. .

Is the second picture the underside of the cap? .

Continuing my not so very quick tour of European fungi....... I'm back from a short trip to the Białowieża forest on the Poland/Belarus border. Whilst there on a tree seminar we had the opportunity to experience a strictly protected area with access via a guide. Frustratingly due to a prolonged dry period in the region there were very few mycorrhyzal species fruiting but the tree digesters were abundent. Nothing really new to me except the red banded/belted polypore (Fomitopsis pinicola) which was abundent at the site on both coniferous and broadleaved species, which I've yet to come across in the UK. Fomitopsis pinicola (Red banded polypore) Hericium coralloides (coral tooth) Fomes fomentarius (hoof fungus) Laetiporus sulphureus (chicken of the woods) Macrolepiota sp (parasol) Festulina hepatica (beefsteak) phellinus robustus (robust bracket) Part of a local fungi exhibition which showcased around 100 species .

Legend in the making Doesn't the babies nappy need changing or the washing putting on Josh ?

Thanks Chris, great image. Yes, we're looking at trees across as wide a growing environment and age structure as possible. .

Not round them there Hampstead parts, that's for sure .

Thank you Sean. Look forward to seeing them. .

That's an interesting piece of info sean, cheers .

Good video and editing Sam out of interest, what was the reasoning behind (particularly) the oaks removal? cheers David .

So selfish What are we all meant to do now? Good luck with the load Chris, you'll undoubtedly enjoy the ride. Who's your tutor? .

Hello all Retrenchment "......roots are unable to finance new peripheral extension, being limited by the canopy having developed to its maximum capacity. Crown retrenchment defines the onset of the ancient phase - often the longest phase. Retrenchment can occur many times in the tree’s lifespan" "peripheral dieback occurs as the tree redirects energy and growth to the formation of a consolidated lower region of the crown" (Fay, 2002/3) I'm embarking on some research with others, that will look at this natural process a little further. Part of this project will be looking to categorize the various stages/phases of natural retrenchment. It will be very useful to try and pool as many images as we can. If anyone can help us with providing images of different species at various stages of retrenchment, this would be greatly appreciated. Of course, If we use any of these images they will be fully credited. Some examples below, thanks for looking. .

Did you notice if it had a strong 'aniseed' aroma? If so I'd think it may be Clitocibe odora the Aniseed Funnel .

Not unusual, but more often at the base. Guess that's where we all mostly look for fruiting bodies. Not sure of species based on those images but would hazard a guess at G. australe .

I would think this is one of the Ramaria species Possibly R. stricta (the Upright Coral) or perhaps R. pallida ( the Pallid Coral) .

Sounds good. Will try and get to next years 50th anniversary one. Enjoy yours too will share some thoughts and images from Bialoweiza when I'm back .

The sure fire way to know if its Lactarius spp, is that it 'bleeds' milk/latex from the damaged gills almost instantaneously like the images below. I'm not seeing that on the gill image above. Did it bleed Matt? If not, then I would look to it being perhaps Leucopaxillus giganteus (the Giant Funnel) .

Ganoderma I would think .

Would of liked to but will be in Poland with Nev & Ted in the Bialoweiza Forest looking at old growth trees and forest communities. How many days are you going for? Any particular speakers you're looking forward to? .

Kevin, edibles are not really my area. I've only ever tried a hand full of species out in the kitchen and wouldn't be confident to suggest identifications for AT members gastronomic benefit based purely on pictures. Collecting and eating wild fungi is obviously a serious & potentially dangerous activity. The Id's I share on this site are to the best of my knowledge correct but I've found along the way that errors and omissions can't be ruled-out. There is after all somewhere in the region of 15000 species in the UK alone. At the end of the day its everyone's own responsibility to make sure of the safety of anything they choose to ingest. I've found the most useful way to expand my own knowledge on species identification is to find a local mycologist (luckily I have a good one literally a couple of streets away) and start up a mutually beneficial relationship giving them heads ups on interesting finds and then asking them for confirmation on ones I'm not too sure on. There's also a number of good online forums including the British Mycological Society's Facebook page. .