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RE: The Amateur Mycologist Tree Health Special - A Crash Course In Trees, Fungal Infections, And The Ailing Giants Of Central Park
You have a really bad opinion of some mushrooms.
In the wild, parasitic fungi help remove old trees, clearing the canopy for younger ones to get access to sunlight, and creating a more diverse environment.
Monoculture plantations and the lack of forest regeneration create unhealthy environments. Maybe we should create parks with more diversity instead.
Or just plant maples, pretty much nothing grows on living maples (except for Oxyporus populinus, that think loves maple trees).
I have no hard feelings towards any mushrooms - and that includes those awful orange tentacles that grow in Japan and kill people after a small bite.
Having said that, I'm not particularly happy to see these old trees die out, even if it is a fungus carrying out its natural processes in a designed environment well suited to it.
Central park is pretty diverse, as parks go. But it ain't no forest, and the loss of these old trees is momentous. Maybe a more resilient design will take their place, but I certainly would never see a new tree reach such heights in my lifetime.
I get your point, those trees are landmarks.
Just playing devil's advocate here.
And your points are not wrong. Though I can't speak to Maple's fungal resilience.
I tell you, nothing grows in maple-only forests. You won't find much on the living trees, neither around their roots.
My theory is maple trees release some antifungal substances, but only when they're alive. Tons of stuff grows on maple logs.
Mmmm! I see another reason to love maple syrup... It's antifungal!
Mmmm! I see another reason to love maple syrup... It's antifungal!