Fungus

David, Evaluating the condition of the crown, the tree already has lost some of its far outreaching heavy branches without loosing that much foliage for photosynthesis in the remaining inner crown and without activating its dormant buds on the trunk to compensate for the losses in the canapy (yet). And as I understand from other Dutch veteran tree projects and a project I was involved in myself in Breda in 2007, trees - and especially Aesculus (Anne Frank tree, Horse chestnuts with Meripilus Breda) - can become lazy in investing in their rootsystem to keep upright themselves when major branches are supported and can collaps even though they have been "scaffolded" (Amsterdam) or fitted with "props" (Breda).

Sean, 1/4 : 5. Bolbitius vitellinus, or as my daughter 30 years ago used to call them "lollipops" 6. Panaeolus species 5/6 are saprotrophic species associated with manure and/or cattle or horse dung 7. Hygrocybe species

Okay, support by (wooden) props is to be considered. But my question still remains : why not retrench and reduce the crown in two phases, so the oak can stand and keep upright on its own, as some of the other 250-300 years old oaks in an old close by "church" lane have already started entering the second phase of their life cycles in reducing their crowns by dropping heavy limbs with a weight overload in a natural way ?

Ross, Chondrostereum purpureum (or Schizophyllum commune : first photo) often acts as a secundary saprotrophic fungus "peeling off" the bark (second photo) and superficially white rotting the died tissues and sapwood after other pathogens or sun scald have killed the cambium of beeches, without causing silver leave disease, which is restricted to Prunus and Sorbus species. ---

David, Quite a job the "arborist's little helper" already had been doing. And also see my thread on Fomes fomentarius on a bifurcated beech with poor unions.

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Marco, . Along with Trametes suaveolens, D. confragosa is part of the tree species specific heartwood fungal system white rotting and hollowing trunks of willows, after which the tree looses its crown and becomes a natural pollard surviving and revitalising by activating their dormant buds for decades to more than a hundred years. Species such as Ganoderma australe or Pholiota squarrosa "throw over" willows, after which roots develop from the dormant buds at the side of the trunk with soil contact and braches develop into trees from the upper side of the trunk's activated dormant buds.

David, That looks more like what I imagined, but to tell you the truth, I think this looks like s..t doing this to a historic tree standing at the corner of two old roads. Why not retrench and reduce the crown in two phases, so the oak can stand and keep upright on its own without being a risk to the public and our holy vehicles called cars ?

I does help, though I thought you meant in the shape of the letter Y on a bit longer pole holding up the tree by the branches "armpits".

Marco, I'm not familiar with that term, please "enlighten" me .

Marco, Unfortunately no, it's a "markeboom" or "corner stone" tree indicating the bounderies of different owner's properties, that has its tree base less than two metres away from both the private and public road. Besides, the oak has by now lost all of its last year's foliage, so the risk of windthrow is temporarely reduced.

Documentation of a 250 year old Quercus robur, that failed last year because its major roots had completely been white rotted by Grifola frondosa and in its fall damaged and partially uprooted another veteran oak, that was felled recently. The next three photo's show a close by standing oak of about the same age with prolific fruiting of G. frondosa at three sides of the tree base. Although the oak already has lost two major roots at the wind load side (photo 3-4), it still has a vital though somewhat reduced crown with normal foliage. Some of the tree species specific ectomycorrhizal macrofungi (Russula, Lactarius) are still present. Photo 4 also shows symptoms of an infection with rhizomorphs of the necrotrophic parasitic Armillaria ostoyae. The tree is standing close to the entrance of a during the weekends often visited estate and at the corner of a busy public road. My advice on preservation of the tree would be to help it enter the second phase of its life cycle by retrenchment and reducing about one third of the upper and outer crown branches followed by further retrenchment after some years until one third of the original crown is preserved. Any other thoughts apart from felling it because of the risk of windthrow, which has to be assessed and evidenced before a decision is made ?

Thanks for the compliment, and this is your standard practice too ?

1. Aha, so that's how you legitimize disqualifying and attacking forum members disagreeing with you on the best possible solution for a tree and its owner. 2. Yes it is, the question however was, how you assess the softrot caused by M. giganteus at the lower side of major tree roots. 3. Brilliant analysis thoroughly taking all that matters into account . Unfortunately oversimplification in diagnosing and assessing an individual tree seldom works. 4. ... says the champion of uncalled for personal attacks on forum members stating an opinion on trees (and not on persons) and slanderous disqualifications behind people's backs. In The Netherlands we have a saying : "Wie kaatst moet de bal verwachten", which is the equivalent of "Those who play at bowles must look out for rubbers".

I'm just monitoring the extensively managed woodlands and lane trees on the estate while documenting every tree species specific phenomenon, including the mycoflora, of interest to my scientific research. The owner is only informed of stability problems of individual trees if they are close to public roads and parking facilities on the estate. So maybe the decision should best be left to an arborist like the "better Guy" then ? By the way, my family is not related to the German Kaisers .

I could either provide a short or a long list of references to scientific articles and books on in situ and in vitro research on "fungal attack" and fungal wood degrading strategies all with valid evidence on the subject, but I'm afraid you would not be able to see "the wood for the trees" and as you've already gone to sleep after reading my short reply to your over and over again repeated same questions, I have answered several times, I will refrain from that. Instead, for those who are awake, I have a simple question : can you explain why Meripilus giganteus is extremely rare to even non-existing for several decades in undisturbed beech woodlands on the European continent and at the same time is present to such a still increasing extreme in managed beech woodlands and on urban and rural beeches ? And why and how has M. giganteus succeeded in attacking so many other tree species as beech, that are not invaded by M. giganteus under original forest or woodland tree species specific ecosystem conditions ?

Matt, From your pictures alone, I'm 99 % sure it's Agrocybe rivulosa, so the question now is how to properly identify and register the species and in what official herbarium a specimen should be conserved.

Although Scleroderma citrinum is an ectomycorrhizal species, it's mycelium has not lost the capability to temporarely decompose dead wood during a saprotrophical phase it enters, when the mycelium has lost (contact with) its symbiotic tree partner.

David, Could be one of the tiny Mycena's such as M. filopes, or a Marasmius such as M. bulliardii.

1. On what factual evidence is your continuous accusation of mal practice by European arborists, tree workers and tree technicians based ? 2. So that's how one assesses the softrot caused by M. giganteus at the lower side of major tree roots making beeches and some other tree species - you know for sure - extremely vulnerable of windthrow ? 3. How about your total lack of knowledge of or expertise on tree species specific interactions between biotrophic or necrotrophic parasitic wood degrading macrofungi and trees ? And how do you assess the different types of woodrot with your hands ? Now there's a true "professional" bandying "b......t" THEORIES on how tree assessment should be done. 4. By whom ? Not by you, I suppose.

Tom, By reading the description on Soortenbank of Gymnopilus junonius and comparing it with the few other species with rusty brown spores and a ring fruiting on living or dead trees, which are not "a lot".

Tom, 1&2 Perreniporia fraxinea on Robinia : yes 3 Is this the kind of bark pattern (on willow) a symptom of a possible Armillaria infection : yes 4 Leakage spots symptom of possible Armillaria infection : yes 5&6 Daedalopsis confragosa ?? on (poplar/willow?) stump : yes 7&8 on oak : Gymnopilus junonius 9 on fallen tree (species = Populus) : Pholiota populnea (= P. destruens) 10&11 Leakage spots (on another oak) as symptom of possible Armillaria infection : yes 12 Oudemansiella mucida : yes 13 on beech stump : Merulius tremellosus (Spekzwoerdzwam) 14 what could be causing the killing of the moss/lichen on this beech tree? : the competition between the lichen and the mosses, the pale circular patterns are the boundaries of the lichen (see photo) 15&16 Pholiota on beech; looks like aurivella to me : it's Pholiota squarrosa 17&18 beech with first small FB of Meripilus on the right and a cancer on the left. Is there a known link between Kretz and cancer formation : no, it's not caused by K. deusta, but by Nectria ditissima (see photo) 19 is this the famous Laccaria amethystina : 20,21&22 veteran Tilia tomentosa, what is causing this kind of bark pattern? Is this just a patch of old bark clinging on to this fast growing reaction growth stem : yes 25&26 soft rot (?) and demarcation lines on beech stump --> Kretzchmaria : could be 27-28 Fistulina hepatica on oak : Acting as a secondary agent here, given the white rot on the outside : could be in combination with Armillaria 29-30 partially sterile Daedalea quercina : yes on oak, but no on beech : Trametes gibbosa 31 Emerging Lycoperdon pyriforme on beech root : often associated with K. deusta 32-33 Is this Pholliota squarrosa acting as a secondary agent here ? black melanine layers and leakage spots were visible, but no other symptoms of Armillaria : no, as a primary biotrophic parasite avoiding interaction with the necrotrophic parasitic Armillaria And could you in future only upload tranches of 10 photo's at one time ? ---

Matt, Did you check Agrocybe rivulosa, because it could be a first find for the U.K. as it's the new species for the world I discovered October 1999 on heaps of woodchips in a park near Rotterdam from where it has been spreading over the continent.

... such as the presence of Armillaria rhizomorphs and/or melanine plaques or mycelial sheets or felts of Fomes fomentarius ?

As always incorrect and extremely biased by your narrow minded vision on trees. You never learn, do you ?