Fungus

David, If it's not a non- or short stalked G. lucidum (see Ganoderma lucidum), it would be a first for me too, but to be sure you'll have to check the spore size.

Hungry spruce "eating" a road sign, meaning no more then 10 vehicles are allowed in ?

No, as far as these data do exist, they mostly are in the hands of insurance companies, which refuse to make them public and try to settle the damage financially before facing court procedures with counter expertises by a few of my collegues and me, unless it is in their own (financial) interest. I do have some records with photo documentation of my own though, which I use as case studies for educational purposes.

David, Pot and kettle or it takes one to know one ? Anyway, thanks for explaining what I meant to say .

David, No, in The Netherlands private owners of trees in parks and woodlands of castles and estates are not forced by law to do this, even though there still are branches attached to the partially living or dead trees. They can suffice with letting the visitors know that they enter the park at their own risk or assume people are familiar with this aspect of Dutch civil law and stay out of the park or woodland in stormy weather. In the cases presented, trees are only dismantled if they are a threat to the public, which is not very often the case and the trees have their "natural" shapes and sizes remaining after A. ostoyae or other macrofungi and insects, birds and other animals and/or storm and strokes of lightning have done their work. So no coronetting or other interventions takes place, one lets natural processes have their course.

So you know of no other species, apart from cows, of the world wide fauna (mammals, birds, insects, bacteria, etc.) or fauna (interdependend co-existing plants, micro- and macrofungi) inhabiting and "walking and grazing" this earth totally or partially depending on grass and their seeds for food and reproduction ?

Correction, this must be the first picture. And the fast spreading of the infection in the lane was caused by rhizomorphs growing up to one metre a year towards the roots of oaks with in between root-root contact.

And finally some photo's of dead, but stable oaks and the further decomposition of the wood by the mycelium of A. ostoyae and other exclusively saprotrophic species of macrofungi. Photo 1/2 : dead oak killed by A. ostoyae with Psilocybe (= Hypholoma) fascicularis fruiting on the remaining bark decomposing the not yet exposed wood with polyaromatic hydrocarbons. In picture 2, you can see, that all the oaks at this side of the lane have been infected with A. ostoyae and are in different phases of rhizomorphs attacking and damaging the trunks. Photo 3/4/5 : dead and meanwhile crownless oak killed by A. ostoyae in overview, with remains of rhizomorphs behind the fallen off bark and of the exposed wood, which is decomposed outside in leaving a for now and (many) years to come stable "tree corpse" and a habitat for bugs and beasties behind. ---

Nick, To young to identify. Annual or perennial, spore colour, characteristics of the crust, colour and toughness of trama and tubes, colour and shape/size of pores, possible panic fruiting (sterile bracket), white or brown rotter, etc. ?

Birch "eating" railings. ---

Also see Inonotus strategies. And take into account, that I. hispidus (mainly) is a biotrophic parasite of trees associating with endomycorrhizal microfungi.

David, , so you have moved on to ectomycorrhizal pine (and larch) species now .

And some photo's of an oak in its final phase, which has given up closing the melanine (and mycelium) covered dead wood in the wound and last week started panic fruiting (see last photo) with tiny infertile acorns. ---

Some photo's of an oak in the end phase, which is still showing resistance with attempts to overgrow and strengthen the top of a large trunk wound with wound tissue, while being completely white rotted and hollowed by the mycelium of A. ostoyae at the trunk's base. The melanine sheets are visible on the dead wood of the trunk and at the trunk's base. ---

Next some photo's of trunks and trunk bases of an old and a veteran oak with patches of smooth bark partially or completely overgrowing the dead living tissues, which is a sign of the second phase of infection. Although the wound on the trunk base in the first photo seems healed, the rhizomorphs or melanine covered mycelium stay active behind the callus or wound tissue layer. The second photo shows an overview of a lane of veteran oaks, with the most affected tree front left. The third photo shows the trunk of the veteran tree in more detail to make the smooth bark alternated with more oak specific patches of bark visible. The tree also has a not yet opened up bark and cambium necrosis caused by Fistulina hepatica to the right side of the trunk base. ---

The start of a thread where we can share our experiences with rhizomorphs, melanine plaques or sheets, mycelium and FB's of Armillaria ostoyae (or A. mellea) begins with one of the photo's, I uploaded before, from last year, of acid smelling ooze or "frothy flux", which later turns black, excreted by a common oak because of local blockage of water and nutrients transport, on which lots of insects (flies, wasps, hornets, butterflies) were feeding. It is followed by two photo's from last week of the same tree, which has stopped oozing and lost pieces of bark at the base of the trunk, behind which the first melanine plaques are present, which is a sign of the infection of the living tissues entering its second phase. The oozing spot from the first photo is located at the top right of the trunk in the second photo. ---

Speaking of which, German mycologists recently found evidence, that apart from Hygrophorus species, which are ectomycorrhizal macrofungi associating with trees, at least some Hygrocybe species, like the Parrot Waxcap (Hygrocybe psittacina), form special types of mycorrhizae with the roots of plants dominating poor and/or calcareous grasslands, which in this case (photo) might be a Hieracium species. ---

Tony, 1. Really ??? I thought I left the mental health "industry" 15 years ago or do you think I see trees (or arborists) as patients too ? 2. It takes two ego's for an ego battle and although I sometimes appreciate an ego boost , I buried mine long before entering the "arb & fung" world, so ?

Tom, * Last week, I was monitoring some Dutch beech (and oak) woods for two days and I didn't spot any Laccaria amethystina, so you'll probably have to wait until later this year for the fruiting of the species. * next shot and * Russula parazurea are more likely Russula cyanoxantha, which should have elastic fatty gills, that do not crumble when bruised. R. cyanoxantha is mostly associated with older beeches and oaks, so this is a representative of the beech-oak tree species specific ecosystem. * yes : all Xerocomus (= Boletus) chrysenteron s.l., which is a generalistic species associated with deciduous and coniferous trees. Conclusion : part of the root system is connected to mycelia of a mainly with beech-oak associating Russula, still providing the tree with phosphor to be able to blossom and fruit (DNA) and other parts of the root system have entered their final phase in the tree species specific life cycle. Can you relate the parts of the root system associated with X. chrysenteron to the presence of M. giganteus in/on the effected roots and buttocks close to or at the tree base ?

David, Wow , there has been a real wood carving artist at work !!!

Jay & Graham, ...which is correct . Judged by the photo alone, it could either be Inonotus hispidus or I. cuticularis.

Scott, Which IMO would be the logical thing to do with an ash invaded by I. hispidus.

1. Because in Europe, we meanwhile have lost most of our natural beech and other forests with fully closed or continuous canapies and other types of forests have so much open space, that grasses and other nitrification liking plants thrive and expand because of continuous ammonia deposition. And for your information, the Gramineae are one of the plant species with the most species in the world, of which many species are forest related. 2. In their natural European habitats, trees such as Castanea, Acer, Fagus, Abies and Picea can create forest floor space without grasses themselves.

1. Neither can I, as those studies are for the greater part confined to (commercially) managed grasslands and agricultural (crop) fields. But tell me, what do you see happening in the rootzones of trees then without proper knowledge of the soil food webs of tree species specific ecosystems, including the "messages" sent by mostly above ground and in succession fruiting ectomycorrhizal symbionts, and forest ecology in general ? 2. Of course there is, that's why I am not a grassland ecologist and mycologist as some of my Dutch collegues are, but a forest ecologist and mycologist. 3. I know, that's why I confine my work and research to indigenous European tree species specific ecosytems, which already is a hell of a job to keep up to date with. 4. Did you assess and monitor the differences between tree species associated with endomycorrhizal microfungi and with ectomycorrhizal macrofungi and if so, what were your findings and conclusions ? 5. As I said countless times before, mimicking nature can not be done effectively without basic knowledge of the dynamics of tree species specific ecosystems and their soil food webs, including the tree's mycorrhizal partners.

As they create no risk to the public visiting the castle park' date=' who should stay of the lawns anyway, leave them in peace and although they are "handicaped" because of the infections of the grafts, trunkbases and roots, grant them their natural life cycles. According to our national register of veteran trees, the oldest two beeches in The Netherlands are 300-400 years old.