Fungi Friday 🍄

West Sussex, July 2023

I was walking to the supermarket when I stopped to admire this fine oak sitting at the edge of the car park. I have noticed the inching decline in the tree’s uppermost branches in recent year, not necessarily the beginning of the end, as oaks do go into decline naturally after 200-300 years, which this oak is aged around.

At the base of the tree I noticed an aberration in the bark where a bracket fungus was fruiting. I took a few phone pics, with people quite confused by my crouching at the tree’s base.

Looking more closely, the typical guttation of weeping conk (Pseudoinonotus dryadeus) was apparent. It’s a beautiful ‘weeping’ of liquid from the pores as it draws water from the surrounds.

This is a not hugely common fungus but it does seem to pop up on large oaks in this part of the West Sussex Weald, especially on these avenue oaks.

Nearby was this stump with a big Ganoderma bracket growing where the tree (probably a beech) once stood.

Thanks for reading.