David Humphries

Summary: This comprehensive 200 page book focuses on our appreciation of old trees from the aesthetic, historical and ecological viewpoints and reminds us of our responsibilities as owners, managers, practitioners and enthusiasts to help prolong their lives and ensure continuity of their habitat & the myriad of associated species that rely on them. Edited by the renowned consultant and author David Lonsdale (Principals of Tree Hazard Assessment and Management – 1999) it is the collective work of the experiences & wisdom from a number of prominent members of the Ancient Tree Forum. It is visually appealing, being packed full of portrait and landscape photographs of iconic maiden and pollarded trees in their settings, selected reference images of fungi, invertebrates & their habitats, plus diagrams that help the reader in understanding how trees grow old and example images of the techniques to be employed whilst managing them. There are 7 chapters covering principles, surveying, protection, conserving habitat, tree work specifications, heritage & management plans. Appendices cover additional aspects of surveying, UK tree law, estimating mortality rates & method statements Personal review: Having read and been inspired by one of the main predecessors of this book, (Helen Reads’ Veteran Trees: a guide to good management – 2000) this has been a long time in the writing but has proved to have been worth the wait as there have been a significant number of new theories & techniques proposed and developed in the last decade or so, and this up to date book covers pretty much all of those. If I’m honest it’s not a book that I’ve read cover to cover, as for me, it’s more of a reference which I have (and will continue to) dipped in and out of depending on my need for information either at work as a Trees Management Officer or at home as point of reference for a term that I’ve read or heard somewhere. It would have been a great resource (sadly not published at the time) to have had access to, whilst undertaking units covering biomechanics and veteran trees during further education I undertook last year. There is a very useful 8 page glossary of terms that in itself I find a valuable resource. I like the way that you can quickly reference the chapters by thumbing the highlighted edge tabs. It’s not a coffee table book but the quality of the paper, print and layout is high end and at least what you would require from a working reference. The ‘Ent’ on the front cover is a great choice as it’s an iconic image summing up Mans connection to ancient trees through mythology and practical history. From my perspective I’ve struggled to find any negatives or oversights. I’ve not found any conflicting information in the book in comparison to what is currently being presented in seminars, courses or other related texts. I highly recommend this to anyone who is already working either in managing and/or consulting about veteran trees, & also for those that are work climbing or felling in and around them. Published by The Tree Council ISBN 978-0-904853-09-4 Priced at £30 (I think this is reasonable in comparison to other tree industry reference books) View full review

Ha, not yet, but the look I got last night when I said how many fungi images I had taken would have thawed an iceberg. Think her side of the bed is safe for now

Big tree work there Mr Coates, really liked the camera positioning @ 5.10 onwards, great capture !

Just have them in individual species folders on an external hard drive that goes around with me so I can uploaded either on a lap top or the office pc when ever I need to get hold of them. So I add shots straight from the Canon or phone straight in to the specific folders. That's as long as I know what they actually are of course. I have folders full of unknowns that I'll hopefully eventually get around to sorting. Just had a look and can see that there are 500 folders containing 18,054 individual fungi images............blimey, I've got some sort of problem ain't I

Fruiting about 5m up a heavily colonised dead lime trunk. Not often seen fruiting at height, but like Gary we come across rhizomorphs a few meters up various trunks under dysfunctional bark.

Yeah, been pretty lucky really. Could of gone either way, even me being in shorts hasn't put the sun off

A view out over the North Sea from Wiveton Down, Norfolk

Coastal pinewood fungi in north Norfolk Earth star, brittle gills and amethyst deceivers

Yeah I think that's a given

Must have been a really odd prevailing wind to have created this pine knot

Looked to be a fairly thick residual wall thickness uncolonised by the Kretz decay in that image. but can imagine the nervous nature of the client with that thing towering over the property.

Apart from the obvious damage shown in the report, there's not much info, do you know if there was any further update on what led to the failure Mick? wind, decay?

Big tree, earn't ya pay on that one. any cross section shots of the decay?

Good one huh

Oops, thought I was still talking with Sloth. few bits from a leg stretch along an inland sandy down in north Norfolk. Bolbitulus titubans, yellow fieldcaps Thinking Entoloma incanum, mousepee pink gill Lepista nuda, wood blewitt

Stop fung stalking me, I'm on holiday without any of my books and resources, go pester those nice people at the BMS FB page but they do look like Schizophyllum commune

Don't think so Kevin

Great shot! All those autominous units have unravaled like a steel rope. Must have made a hell of a noise.

Ooh, I'd be bustin them with me big hob nail boots

Excellent set of images Ben, thanks for sharing. when we're these taken? Is it the same location you and Tony recorded a few years back, if so, are you aware of how often it fruits?

Excellent, thanks for sharing these Mr Spanners, brings back memories

I've not eaten the wig before, always been put off when it goes all inky, what they like? Don't think they are really scales on the stem of the Armillaria's, more just expansion cracking of the stem fibres. See this fairly regularly.

No need to fell ya heathen, a good dose of Armillatox would do a job

lots of Armillaria around all over the place