What do you do with conks?
- Thread starter ORclimber
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Here's a pic of 2 conks on a maple and one on the ground that looks the same off of a hazelnut 75' away. Haven't Id'd them yet. The maple obviously has issues, but the hazelnut looked ok aside from the conk. Of course the inside was a mess.
rumination
ArboristSite Guru
I think ORClimber is asking whether or not the conks will produce spores that could potentially infect other trees, and if so is it worth removing them, or is the ambient amount of fungal spores so high that there is no point. I'm interested in knowing the answer to that question myself.
My uneducated guess is that there's not much point because there's fungal spores everywhere, and the removal of a few conks here and there won't make much of a difference.
My uneducated guess is that there's not much point because there's fungal spores everywhere, and the removal of a few conks here and there won't make much of a difference.
Rumination... I agree, but, my thoughts are that the conks are indicators of decay, not the primary decay vectors. Do the conks start decay or do they show the signs that decay is present? Spores are prevalent in most places in my opinion and they land and produce gametophytes where situations present themselves that are favorable, ie. decaying wood.
just my .02
just my .02
Kneejerk Bombas
ArboristSite King
When I was a kid, a few members of my family were out for a walk in the woods and found a big conk. We broke it off and did some artwork on the bottom with a stick and then we all signed it.
It got brought home and stuck in a closet where it still sits preserved perfectly. It's around 40 years old now and pretty fun to take a look at now and again.
We now have a second one, again collected on a family walk, with the next gereration, only about 6 years old.
It got brought home and stuck in a closet where it still sits preserved perfectly. It's around 40 years old now and pretty fun to take a look at now and again.
We now have a second one, again collected on a family walk, with the next gereration, only about 6 years old.
Guy Meilleur
Addicted to ArboristSite
Dan I agree but once a bad fungus is ID'd the conks should be removed and buried. as it says in your Fungal Strategies book, those things can pump out Billions of spores. That changes the ambient infectious level quite a bit.
Mike if your conk was off a locust they're called artist's conks. I harvest them and my wife etches on them. I have one on top of my monitor with our initials on it. I know, aaaaaaawwwww.
Mike if your conk was off a locust they're called artist's conks. I harvest them and my wife etches on them. I have one on top of my monitor with our initials on it. I know, aaaaaaawwwww.
wiley_p
ArboristSite Guru
The false tinder fungus, the latin name escapes me, anyway that fruiting body has psychoactive qualities. It was/is used by several of the West Cook Inlet Athabascans in AK. Sounds better than burying them hey?
Froggy
ArboristSite Operative
So to my understanding. You should get rid of the conk and observe the tree the conk or conks were on. To see if it will survive or if it should be removed. Or does that have to do with the location of the tree and how many other trees are infected?
jkrueger
ArboristSite Guru
My biology, remembered, and I may be wrong. The conk is NOT the problem. They will only appear where there is rot. When found on truncks that appear to be OK, it is a signal for what is inside. An alerting mechanism is wanted, not gotten rid of. They do not cause the trees issue.
Jack
Jack
rumination
ArboristSite Guru
Jack,
While the conks are indicators of decay within the tree, they are also the fruiting body of the fungus. They spread millions of spores that will eventually settle and could possibly start decay in other nearby trees. Thus, the question is: will disposing of the conks before they can drop their spores help to reduce the chances of decay in other nearby trees or is the ambient level of different fungus so high that it won't make a difference? This would require a detailed knowledge of the life cycle of the fungus in question, so that you would know whether or not the conk had released its spores already, or if it was a perennial conk. I'm still unsure as to the correct answer to these questions.
While the conks are indicators of decay within the tree, they are also the fruiting body of the fungus. They spread millions of spores that will eventually settle and could possibly start decay in other nearby trees. Thus, the question is: will disposing of the conks before they can drop their spores help to reduce the chances of decay in other nearby trees or is the ambient level of different fungus so high that it won't make a difference? This would require a detailed knowledge of the life cycle of the fungus in question, so that you would know whether or not the conk had released its spores already, or if it was a perennial conk. I'm still unsure as to the correct answer to these questions.
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jkrueger
ArboristSite Guru
I've never seen them on heathy trees, or an area, multiple trees, with many of them. I'll check more on this.
Thanks,
Jack
rumination
ArboristSite Guru
Rocky, earlier in the thread I said much the same thing as you just did. And it still does seem to make good sense. However, others with more experience than I disagreed, and I don't really know enough to say one way or the other, so I'll just be wishy washy until I do some more research. :angel:
conk/locust
The artist conk on locust trees were used years ago to carry fire. When dried out they can smolder for days if wrapped in large leaves. Kids would carry them around on the 4th of July to light fireworks, no need to carry matches, a conk would smolder all day. The common name for it was punk as it indicated the tree you found it on was punky inside. It grows on beech trees also but if you see it on locust it is a good indication the tree has an inch or two of good wood on the outside edge and the interior of the trunk is mush. So even if the tree has lots of green branches above the conk beware it is a dangerous tree to be climbing or felling. The larger the conk the more indication of dead wood/mush inside. I've had locust snap in half at or near the conks when pulling them over or just felling them. If you knock a conk off, they will grow back. It takes some years for them to get big again but they do grow back because you only removed the fruiting body not the little filiment/thread like feeding system (like roots) that will grow another fruiting body. The white under side will turn tan when it is time to drop spores and a new white layer will grow on in the spring.
The artist conk on locust trees were used years ago to carry fire. When dried out they can smolder for days if wrapped in large leaves. Kids would carry them around on the 4th of July to light fireworks, no need to carry matches, a conk would smolder all day. The common name for it was punk as it indicated the tree you found it on was punky inside. It grows on beech trees also but if you see it on locust it is a good indication the tree has an inch or two of good wood on the outside edge and the interior of the trunk is mush. So even if the tree has lots of green branches above the conk beware it is a dangerous tree to be climbing or felling. The larger the conk the more indication of dead wood/mush inside. I've had locust snap in half at or near the conks when pulling them over or just felling them. If you knock a conk off, they will grow back. It takes some years for them to get big again but they do grow back because you only removed the fruiting body not the little filiment/thread like feeding system (like roots) that will grow another fruiting body. The white under side will turn tan when it is time to drop spores and a new white layer will grow on in the spring.
Guy Meilleur
Addicted to ArboristSite
There is no reason to leave them on. Even healthy trees have small infection courts from included bark etc. Do you know how small those spores are? There is no reason to leave them on, unless you are afraid someone will climb a rotten tree. Then, put a red X on it or something. Many locusts wiht them will stand a long time, so you should look into their structure further before judging.
It seems like leaving a point source for spores could be a bad idea. Here's a quote from Tatter's Diseases of Shade Trees in the Ganoderma section. "Windblown spores are produced in large numbers by the fruiting bodies. These spores can contact wounds near the base of a healthy tree and create infections...."
But, removing conks takes a way a useful diagnostic tool for the observant. From Evaluation of Hazard Trees in Urban Areas "Identification of the fruiting body is important because decay fungi have different abilities to decay wood, and attack different parts of the tree. The type of fungi may also indicate the degree of structural integrity. For example, the presence of a single Fomes officinalis fruiting body indicates that most of the heartwood has been decayed, whereas a single Fomes pini fruiting body indicates decay may extend only a few feet above and below the conk."
I dunno what to do, good thing tree killin' is in high demand.
But, removing conks takes a way a useful diagnostic tool for the observant. From Evaluation of Hazard Trees in Urban Areas "Identification of the fruiting body is important because decay fungi have different abilities to decay wood, and attack different parts of the tree. The type of fungi may also indicate the degree of structural integrity. For example, the presence of a single Fomes officinalis fruiting body indicates that most of the heartwood has been decayed, whereas a single Fomes pini fruiting body indicates decay may extend only a few feet above and below the conk."
I dunno what to do, good thing tree killin' is in high demand.
M.D. Vaden
vadenphotography.com
RockJSquirrel...
Don't you think they are for conking people on the head?
CONK__CONK !!
Don't you think they are for conking people on the head?
CONK__CONK !!
Guy Meilleur
Addicted to ArboristSite
Good point, but they do grow back. Or, you could remove all but the smallest one. Or, if the spores are emitted from the underside, cut the bottom half of it off and leave the top half for ID.
Lots of other options besides leaving billions of spores to disseminate. If it's a tree you're paid to help, removing them all, experimentally drenching the wood (not bark) with 10% bleach or antifreeze, drenching the soil with Subdue or Alliette, and inoculating the soil outside the drenched area with good micros is a more aggressive tactic.
O and MD, since they are not shed like apples, the conkingonthehead scenario seems unlikely...
rumination
ArboristSite Guru
OK Guy, I can see where you're coming from in the urban environment. I guess because I work in a forest that is the context in which I was thinking. In the urban environment rotting tree/conk density is fairly low so the removal of even one large conk might make a difference. In the forest, however, it would just be a drop in the bucket.
