Wood decay biology at Palo Alto, CA

[KTSmith]

There will be a day-long session on wood decay fungus biology and the decay process in living and dead trees on October 4th at the Stanford University campus. Hosted by the Britton Fund, an arboricultural research and education non-profit outfit, this should be fun. For more details, please check out http://www.thebrittonfund.org/2013-educational-meeting-at-stanford/.

 

[guymayor]

So Kevin, based on recent moisture etc. conditions and time of year, what do you hope to see Oct 4?

 

[KTSmith]

Ha, ha, No, the organizers have not included a foray in this one. My Forest Service colleague Jessie Glaeser, supervisor for some years at the Center for Forest Mycology Research (CFMR) at the Forest Products Laboratory (Madison, WI), will be talking and giving examples of identification features. The CFMR is the top US and one of the leading centers worldwide for forest fungus research, particularly taxonomy and systematics of wood decay basidiomycetes. I'll be talking a bit about ecological roles and impacts in wild and urban settings. I need to pull materials together on that...after a quick trip to Vancouver next week for the ISA PNW chapter annual meeting.

Jessie has been doing field ID sessions and forays as part of the Western Forest Disease and Insect Work Conference over the last few years and I've included some of that in the 1 and 2 day sessions with the Western Chapter ISA over the last couple of years (in CA, HI, AZ, NV). Sure, forays are best when everything cooperates, but that's not what this is about.

Should be fun!

 

[guymayor]

Is Bodnarzewia berkeleyii common?

 

[KTSmith]

In my casual observation, it's less common than Ganoderma, Armillaria, and Laetiporous at the base of living or recently dead hardwoods, but if I see a light buff- or tan-colored fleshy,dimidiate, annual polypore, that'll be the one. I don't know of others that look like that, but the spiny basidiospores (as seen with a bit of stain under a microscope) will clinch it.