Sunday, 18 November 2012

A log blog

I am no mycologist but this autumn seems to be an exceptionally good one for fungi. A log at the edge of the Brightwell playing fields is displaying two interesting species: sprouting from the end of the log are the pale branches of the Candle-snuff Fungus Xylaria hypoxylon and a little further along are the brackets of Ischnoderma resinosum.

 

In three to four years little of the log will remain; fungi, aided by woodlice, millipedes and beetle grubs, will have reduced it to a crumbling heap  - but the biggest agent of decay will have been micro-organisms such as bacteria.

  

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