Monday, September 10, 2012

Fall Fungi

As the cool nights and mornings of fall slowly begin creeping in, and we once again are blessed by regular precipitation, start looking at the base if your trees. 

Last week Inonotus dryadeus conks began appearing along the base of willow oaks here in Charlotte.  These conks are the tell tail sign of root decay.  Inonotus causes a white rot which breaks down lignin, a structural component of wood, in the tree.

Many people believe that the amount and placement of decay conks is representative of the amount of decay found in a tree.  While that is usually false, it does hold true with Inonotus.  This is definitely something that needs to be considered when assessing trees with these conks present.

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