Heart Rot in Bur Oak (pic heavy)

[Raven]

I think the black in the picture there is just dirt packed in. Good eye though, I had not heard of Xylaria. My research (limited) has indicated either Armillaria mellea or Innotus andersonni - mycologists please jump on me for the stretch. Here's some more interesting pics finally- I keep getting interrupted by storms.

One of the buttress roots on the tension side that snapped underground:

 

[Raven]

Here we can see some creamy white tendrils of mycelia creeping downward:



And drilling reveals punky brown mush in the middle of the root:

 

[Raven]

Here's my core sampling technique, not very scientific but it gave me some idea of what's inside. I just had an assistant catch the chips as the auger bit pulled them out.

 

[Raven]

Here's some more of the dissection showing where the lost twin broke off many years ago

 

[Raven]

This is the actual inclusion between the codoms, now packed full of mycelium



And seen here looking down at the stump, the Lincoln head is at the center of the lost twin

 

[Raven]

The stump:

 

[Raven]

More random dissection pics. I was able to push the fiberglass rod about 10 cm into the heart of the "good" or remaining lead.



Precision measurement of mycelium in a radial crack




More precise measurements:


And custom core sampling technique:

 

[Raven]

I did not find any black shoestring rhizomorphs under the bark, just the pale white creepy things on the roots. The decayed material is actually brown in color (brown rot?) and the white stuff is actually mycelium - can someone give me a gradeschool explanation of the difference between Mycelium, Rhizomorph, Basidiocarp?

I would love to positively ID this fungus- I did not find any fruiting bodies although Chicken of the Woods have frequently been seen nearby (Laetiporous?)

Was fun playing Shigo, wondering seeking learning questioning. Mostly I've determined not to trust a tree with previous basal wounding and heavy lean, and sometimes that old wound can be completely hidden from sight.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Thanks for taking the time to post on this!

 

[JD3000]

Gonna be hard without visible fruiting bodies. For that matter, who's to say there aren't more than one fungi consuming the wood? It may not be cut and dry.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Here's a couple pics from a red oak codom inclusion that failed and took down a chestnut oak that was growing right next to it.. this failure was put into actionfrom a t storm end of May

 

[guymayor]

Macrodrilling in dissection is fine but it's also a really good way to spread decay.

My thought on the site is to mulch 4" all over and prune back any bad leaners.