Cryptoporus volvatus in pondorosa pines

beastmaster

beastmaster

New member
Location
Calavaras co.
Though I'd share some information I found in case anyone is curious like me.
Anyone working bark beetle tree's in Calif. will of more then likely come across these little white conks in dead or burnt pondorosa pines. The pouch conk appears soon after the bark beetles abandon the tree. The spores enter through the exit holes.
While they do cause decay in sap wood, they don't seem to undermine the roots or spread rot at a rapid rate compared to other fungus.
This is helpfully information when doing a preclimb inspection. This is not to say it should be disregard but in my observation it's not a factor in weakening fresh dead pines structurally.
Anyone have any feedback or more info let's hear it.
 
Perfectly good post. So here is a useless wisdom: This fungus is common where it occurs and nonexistent where it doesn't. Yes, I've encountered it on ponderosa and other conifers at my fire scar plots. Heavy fruiting a year or two back at Yosemite National Park.
It's an early successional species after fire injury. Although a polypore, the spores are released into the "pouch" and are contained there, so you don't see a pore surface unless you cut up a fruiting body. The strategy is for wood boring beetles to seek out the fruiting bodies for their nutrition (especially N) and while they browse the inside of the fruiting body, the borers pick up spores and mycelial fragments on their bodies and carry them to new infection points that the borers infest.
Usually, the Cryptoporus disappears after a few years from any individual tree, replaced by other decay fungi.
Yes, it does cause a brownrot of sapwood. It definitely indicates a dead face or dead trunk, but you knew that. I haven't heard any lore from climbers about it as a warning indicator. Still, I expect it would weaken the stem. Not much help, I'm afraid.
 
I run into this all the time. Seem to be more prevalent on second year dead and done by the 4th year. While it can be a fairly heavy crop it seems to leave the heart wood alone. I come across it on Doug Fir mostly in my area, which can have nearly petrified heartwood in the older trees.
The beetles have specialized divots on their heads which carry the spores, thus it's debatable if the beetles are farming the fungi.
 
Im not sure the fungus the beetles carry on their head and causes the blue stain and prevents the uptake of water is the same one. The patch fungus does seem to be at lest semi dependent on the beetles exit holes to infect the tree.
White mycelluim(sp?) Can often be seen beneath loose bark.
 
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