The Oaks

Two of the easiest leaves to collect in our scavenger-hunt style leaf collection assignment, both of these oaks are found in Pansy Patch Park. The two leaves are easy to differentiate; the red oak has pointy lobes where the bur oak has round lobes.

Bur Oak (quercus macrocarpa)

Red Oak (quercus rubra)

Professor: C. Ryan, Course: Dendrology

Clinker fungus on Yellow Birch

This hard, black plug looks like a big chunk of burnt charcoal. The internal rot caused by the clinker fungus can be 1.5-1.8 meters above and below the conk. Birches are the target of these odd fungi. The wikipedia entry indicates that this mushroom has long been used in folk medicine as a cure for a number of ailments. Would you try it?

Craig and the clinker fungus, October 9th, 2011

Defect: Clinker (cinder) fungus (inonotus obliquus)

Defect importance: Major

Tree Species: Yellow Birch (betula alleghaniensis)

Collected from: Baldwin Pond, Baldwin's Mills Quebec

Date Collected: October 9th, 2011

Professor: Erroll Downey, Course: Forest Health

Spine tooth fungus on Sugar Maple

Large, soft, smelly conks bloom from the cracks and seams of a sugar maple. The fruiting body of the spine tooth fungus is a delicate beauty; external evidence of a devastating internal rot caused by hyphae that can stretch up to 5 meters above and below the external fruit. Maples attacked by spine tooth will rapidly degrade, and should probably be removed.

Spine tooth fungus, October 4th, 2011

Defect: Spine Tooth fungus (climacodon septrionalis)

Defect importance: Major

Tree Species: Sugar Maple (acer saccharum)

Collected from: Shaw Woods

Date Collected: October 4th, 2011

Professor: Erroll Downey, Course: Forest Health