Fungus

Pholiota genus ... possibly P. squarrosa.

Arran & David,

Definitely panic fruiting biotrophic parasitic P. squarrosa.

Hypholoma fasciculare ... common on dead wood.

Shane,

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1. little brown balls Hypoxylon fragiforme

2. what may be forming (white) K. deusta

1. Probably Hypoxylon fuscum

2. Resupinate Aphyllophorales, might be Physisporinus vitreus.

Armillaria fruiting out from these Birch roots

Armillaria mellea s.s.

Impressive crop on A saccharinum, exhibiting severe distress. Can anyone ID this for me?

Joe,

Panic fruiting of the necrotrophic parasitic Armillaria mellea eventually killing the tree.

1. any shots of M. sumstinei ?

2. Is it prevalent in the Benelux/Germany region ?

David,

1. No, but see this photo of Meripilus sumstinei and this description of Meripilus sumstinei.

2. No, it's not known from the European continent either.

I am certain this pic is merrip but will go back next year and get a pic when the fruit fresh if see it again

Ben,

These brackets look like it's a possibe candidate for Meripilus sumstinei, so if you go back next year also take a sample and have it microscopically identified.

Is that A m on a branch? Thought it was purely mycorrhizal

Not growing on, but laying their weary heads/caps for support and to rest on the branch .

A wide variety of the fungoidial stuff out there currently

1. P.o.

2. A.m.

3. Russula or Lactarius species ?

4. Stropharia squamosa

5. S. c.

6. On oak ? G.r. or F.h. ?

7. Psathyrella spadicea

Doesn't explain F h though? Utilizing the last bits of deposited vinegar acids perhaps?

Could be a valid explanation, as F. hepatica is a non-agressive parasite investing in getting old with the tree, that is living most years of its presence in an oak on vinegar acids the sapwood secretes to defend the living tissues of annual rings, before it invades the cambium causing bark and cambium necrosis.

Is the fruiting of merip on oak stumps cut decades ago because it takes a long time before the cellulose becomes exhausted?

Meripilus fruiting on oak stumps for decades ? Any documentation (pictures) ? And if so, IME oak stumps keep their root systems intact for decades after the felling of the tree producing lots of epicormic growth form activated dormant buds.

In fact, the oldest oaks in The Netherlands are standing in a circle surrounding the original (below ground level) coppice with a still intact root system from which the present trees originate.

An interesting snippet today from Olaf Schmidts wood and tree fungi : meripilus giganteus- giant polypore ...... on stumps of freshly felled trees.......

re-iterates observations of it being a biotrophic parasite and panic fruiting

.

what enzymes these fungi use in order to produce these PHC's what constituent are they breaking down other than cellulose?

Ligniolitic enzymes breaking down lignin first before decomposing cellulose with organohalogens such as PHC.

thats as good an explanation as i could have asked for

Tony,

The same even more goes for Bjerkandera adusta, which mycelium produces up to three times as much PHC as the mycelium of Hypholoma fasciculare, and much less for Mycena galericulata and some other wood decomposing Mycena's, of which the mycelia only produce half as much PHC as the mycelium of H. fasciculare does.

1. That first pic with the ferns in the tree is a classic!

2. In that other, more open location I would much rather see a larger tree, but Salix does not seem very capable of delivering size and stability when so exposed, unless trained early and the core kept solid.

1. That willow is characteristic for the managed "grienden" in The Netherlands.

2. You mean pollarded willows like these, of which we may have several hundred thousands in The Netherlands ?

1. "The initiating of pollards on mature willows at a height of 2m, or even below first unions, must create tremendous dysfunction within the remaining tree/wood, enabling/allowing prime conditions for colonisation. Does that matter? I am trying to understand whether this is acceptable or worthwhile. What will the long term result be? What will long term be for trees treated in this way?"

that was my question too. 2m would be below that first union, it appears. Hollowness of trunk and resultant instability seem inevitable.

2. So the Tree Foundations can sue the other government agencies to change tree practices?

1. See my answers to Treecreeper's questions.

2. They can, because they are non-gouvernmental organisations operating outside the political system and they even have their own specialized lawyers representing them.

Hypholoma fasciculare is a saprobe and not a parasite so was only a secondary coliniser, it is also antagonistic to Armillaria

It's antagonistic to the mycelium, i.e. not the rhizomorphs, of Armillaria, because H. fasciculare decomposes dead wood with polyaromatic hydrocarbons, the enzymes of the hyphae of Armillaria can't compete with.

Here's the cap shots

Judged by the shot of the cap from above, I would also say it's Armillaria mellea s.l. .

In reference to bright colours, surely A. phalloides is not particularly colourful in terms of warning ?

Because of its contrasting colour and shape to the leaves of oaks and beeches it mostly associates with, it's easily detected and then there's the sickly sweet smell, that might attract animals, just as the odour of truffles does.

I'm not a warrior

Neither will you be, nor will you become a "berzerker" , if you don't have your share of the Holy Mushroom .

1. Are you suggesting that the trees in your photos should be pollarded at 2m?

2. If they are cut at 2m, what will the physiological outcome be, if it can be predicted with assurance?

3. How will such drastic removal of biological growth effect the lifespan of these trees?

1. No, I'm not, I said that they would (probably) be pollarded at 2 metres, which was the traditional Dutch way of pollarding willows in "grienden" (see photo 1) and alongside meadows used for domestic and "industrial" purposes, if the trees were to collapse again, because they were not pollarded correctly the first time.

2. The outcome would be, that they had to be cut every two to three years, which nowadays mainly is done by volunteers of Dutch nature organisations.

3. If they are cut at a regular interval, they can get very old and be(come) a habitat for lots of animals, plants (photo 1) and macrofungi (photo 2).

Article from the weekend about dogs & fungi "Poisonous mushrooms flourishing in mild British weather kill pet dog"

David,

Only (young) dogs (as opposed to wolves, jackals and dingo's) raised by humans will eat wild mushrooms, of which they can't see the bright colours by the way, because they are not "taught" by their parents to stay away from food their digesting system can't cope with, as opposed to wild boars and red or roe deer eating truffles, because their parents do.

And that's why the Italians use dogs instead of pigs to search for the most expensive truffles.

3/4 I would be calling C.p

5/6 on the Hazel coppice I would see as A.m

3/4 : o.k. C.p. it is

5/6 : are you sure ? I would predict it doesn't have white, but brown spores, so you'll have to trespass again to check the colour of the spores to convince me this is not Pholiota mutabilis.

the bark became very loose, cracking off in many places and then it became obvious that it was dead ... what could have caused our lovely willow to cark it?

Madame Tree Hugger,

Could it be, you hugged the tree so much, the bark became loose and fell off ?

But all joking apart, in willows loosening and shedding of bark is mainly caused by (the mycelium of) Pholiota squarrosa or by (rhizomorphs of) Armillaria mellea.

... your political career! Every region should have a tree foundation that is not merely advisory, but has real power.

No political career for me , as in The Netherlands, tree foundations are independend public and privately funded organisations closely monitoring and evaluating or - if necessary - opposing to anything politicians plan on doing to trees within the town or city councel's boundaries and ultimately taking them to court to force them to abide to laws on trees and/or flora & fauna or ecology management.