Spalting

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

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leonardturner
Posts: 713
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:40 am
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

Spalting

Post by leonardturner »

The old oak tree lived for many years near my house until it was removed by the county as a hazard. It had grown in the narrow verge between the sidewalk and the street, gradually destroying parts of both the sidewalk and the curb and achieving considerable size in spite of its very limited real estate. The remaining stump, already missing its central core from some distant trauma, is very gradually melting away as multiple fungi invade and break down the complex polymer lignin that gave the oak its strength.

In the process of its eventual return to the earth, it has begun to exhibit spalting, comprising pigmentation, white rot, and the multiple lines seen in the foreground which, like the political boundaries on a map, delineate the margins of specific fungal invaders. Lighter areas can be caused by the bleaching action of the white rot fungi or by the white hyphae of others. Ascomycetes and at least some imperfect fungi can introduce new coloration, often some shade of blue .

These frequently attractive patterns and color variations make spalted wood valuable to woodworkers, and are often seen in wooden bowls, musical instruments, and the like.

Quite recently, another manifestation of fungus broke cover when the sporocarps of the invisible mycelia below debuted for a very short time as tiny white mushrooms near the margin of the old tree’s cavity; they lasted for a few short days and then disappeared, presumably having deposited their genetic cargo of spores.



retouched 4549-4605WCDenV2.jpg



A little further around the old oak stump, a pine seedling has found enough sustenance in the decaying wood to eke out a temporary existence. I suspect the palisaded areas in the background here represent the work of brown rot, which does not reduce lignin, and I hope that those more knowledgeable in this subject will comment on that speculation.

Leonard
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Troels
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Re: Spalting

Post by Troels »

Very nice macroscapes!
Troels Holm, biologist (retired), environmentalist, amateur photographer.
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Sumguy01
Posts: 1715
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:05 pm
Location: Ketchikan Alaska USA

Re: Spalting

Post by Sumguy01 »

=D> Very nice.
Thanks for sharing.

leonardturner
Posts: 713
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:40 am
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

Re: Spalting

Post by leonardturner »

My thanks to you both!

Leonard

MarkSturtevant
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Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
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Re: Spalting

Post by MarkSturtevant »

Very nice! I did not know about how fungi effects the patterns in wood.
The mushrooms resemble those glow in the dark ("foxfire") kinds of 'shrooms. They may not be, though.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

leonardturner
Posts: 713
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:40 am
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

Re: Spalting

Post by leonardturner »

Thanks, Mark; it had not occurred to me to look for fluorescence, so I went back before daylight this morning to see. No more fruiting bodies unfortunately, but there is a rather striking red fluorescence deep inside the old stump in a couple of areas. I'm not sure what this represents, but plan to check it out further. Fungal fluorescence is said to occur only in living organisms, and is typically in the blue green range, so this may be something else entirely.

Leonard

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