Ganoderma sp. on Acer saccharinum – I shouldn’t be so excited!

Both Ganoderma australe and Ganoderma applanatum are so painfully abundant that there’s really little justification in getting head-over-heels excited about their presence. Well, asides from one or two times – and this is such a time!

There are plenty of Acer saccharinum (silver-leaf maple) around the area in which I operate, though I have never seen any fungi on any of them. Until now. Some cracking fruiting bodies of what I suspect is Ganoderma australe, which have colonised and now inhabit the the dead portions of this maple. Whether the fungi entered and caused death or the colonised areas were already dead I cannot say, though the one area not colonised is still alive – this may suggest that the fungi did cause such localised death (following very heavy topping). I doubt very much the fungus was present prior to the heavy pruning, though I may be wrong.

This may very well be a glorious anti-climax for all of you reading this, though I’m still pretty chuffed, and will continue to be until I start finding them all over the place (sod’s law)!

Some harsh pruning work here, if it can be called that!

On some of the dead limbs, we can observe fungal colonisation.

Two small fruiting bodies can be seen on this limb.

And a cracker beneath! Note the brown spores, seen on the ivy leaves, identify this as a Ganoderma species.

On the opposite side of the tree and on the main stem, this small critter can be seen.

Cutting into the flesh of yet another fruiting body reveals a dark brown flesh colour. Perhaps too dark to be Ganoderma applanatum; hence my leaning towards Ganoderma australe.