Winter Season Tree Work – Keep Your Trees Looking Great
The winter season brings dormant landscapes, shorter days, and the fluffy white stuff for us here in the Midwest. The deciduous trees drop their leaves and are all too often forgotten about until life returns in the Spring. What most don’t realize is that there is plenty of tree work to be done during the […]
Fun-gi Friday – Cedar Quince Rust
This week’s fungus, Cedar-Quince Rust. Cedar-quince rust is caused by the fungal pathogen, Gymnosporangium Clavipes. This fungus infects a wide range of plant material; plants in the rose family such as hawthorns, serviceberry, and crabapple. Eastern red cedars and junipers are evergreen hosts. Pictured in the photos are infected carpet junipers. On evergreen hosts, infection occurs on […]
Fun-gi Friday – Turkey Tails
One of the most common mushrooms in North America found virtually anywhere there are dead hardwood logs and stumps to decompose is the Trametes Versicolor fungus, commonly called Turkey Tails. The sporocarp, or fruiting bodies of the mushroom, are thin paper-like fungus having a surface that is finely fuzzy or velvety. The cap is distinctly banded with […]
Fun-gi Friday
Inonotus dryadeus (aka. Polyporus dryadeus). Commons Names: Oak bracket, warted oak polypore, weeping polypore or weeping conk This is a very common fungus found on oaks trees, but other hardwoods can also be hosts. It annually fruits from summer to fall and is found at ground level attached to the base of the trunk and/or larger roots […]
BENEFITS OF LEAF LITTER
Who didn’t enjoy jumping into a giant pile of leaves as a kid? Or, enjoy watching your own kids have that happy moment! The Fall is a wonderful season of football, apple cider, cooler temperatures, and an opportunity to get outside and enjoy a long hike before the cold weather of winter sets in. With […]
Fun-Gi Friday – Chicken of the Woods
Laetiporus sulphureus (also listed as Polyporus sulphureus) aka. “Sulfur shelf” or “Chicken of the Woods”. The pictures here are the fungus at the early/mid stages of development which is kinda cool, if you ask us. Common hosts include oaks, black cherry, and other hardwoods. These pictures are from a crusty old willow tree in Elmhurst that […]
Fun-gi Friday
The fungus pictured here is Ganoderma lucidum. They show up summer through fall. G. lucidum is a very common root and butt rot of most hardwood trees. Oaks, maples, and Honey locusts are particularly susceptible, although ashes, elms and many other deciduous trees can also fall victim. Symptoms associated with G. lucidum include yellowing leaves of the canopy, dead branches, […]
Fungus Fun Facts – Jack O’Lantern Mushroom
Omphalotus illudens, commonly called “Jack O’Lantern mushroom”. Fun Facts: Gets its name because of its bright pumpkin orange color and its occurrence around the time of Halloween. A common fall mushroom found east of the Rockies, frequently found in urban settings sprouting from dead trees. Pictured here is a Red oak that died over the […]
Fungus Fun Facts – Giant Puffball
Fun facts: On record, the largest specimen measured 5ft in size and weighed 50lbs! More often than not, they get to be between the size of a volleyball and a soccer ball. With a light rainfall in autumn, one mushroom will develop in just hours overnight. This fungus is often found in meadows, fields, golf […]
Urban and Native Environments
It’s fun to walk outside and see the contrast between our urban built environment alongside the natural environment. If you are looking for it, it doesn’t take too long to notice it. Certainly, in more urban areas it can be more difficult to come across, but as more focus is put on the benefit of […]