Peering inside a failed beech bole

The New Forest has no shortage of failed beech, given the fact that most of the beech are mature or veteran in age. Typically, the species of Ganoderma can be found to be devouring the remaining stumps and stems, though sometimes further fungi pop up in the most unexpected of places. In this case, looking inside the significantly-hollowed bole yielded a sight of various sporophores of the fungus Phlebia tremellosa (known commonly as ‘jelly skin’).

Because this species is considered to be generally be saprotrophic, the extensive decay (which appears to be caused principally by a white rot) wasn’t created by this fungus and was likely generated instead by Ganoderma australe and / or Ganoderma resinaceum. However, upon windthrow of the bole, or perhaps even before that time, spores of this fungus germinated upon the wood substrate and have since produced fruiting bodies. Such structures are also kept snugly within a consistently warmer and more humid microclimate, which has probably ensured they have endured the frosts that covered the outside world in the prior weeks.