Fungi Friday 🍄

I passed a horse chestnut tree near London’s South Circular in East Dulwich and found an epic Ganoderma bracket fungus.

I am fairly sure this is Ganoderma resinaceum.

I first noticed there was a fungus in the area when I passed this fruiting body growing out of the gap between the wall and the pavement. From memory, there was some tree growth too, which would show that the fungus is strongly intertwined with its host.

Yes, there is definitely some branching from the tree through the wall. This is almost certainly stress-related, as is the presence of the fungus.

From this angle, the wall doesn’t look too happy either! I do wonder why we build walls around trees sometimes, hedges are so much better in the long run.

I don’t think this tree will be here in 10 years, but let’s not blame the fungus. The stress and potential damage to the roots has likely come from the building work in close proximity. If we’re to have mature trees in London they need better treatment.

Thanks for reading.