Mary Fisher wrote:
Honey fungus spreads by underground rhizomorphs (bootlaces). It
finds a tree, enters via the collar at gound/soil juction, kills
the tree then uses the dead wood as a sugar (food) source while it
forages on via more bootlaces. Or it finds a lump of dead tree and
uses it in the same way.

It's one of our commonest fungi. How come there are still trees in
the UK? ;-)

I think - as I suspect you do - that it only attacks dead trees.

That's been our experience.

It's not in any parasite's interest to kill all potential hosts.


Ah, but it is. All the HF wants is a new temporary sugar source to use to
leapfrog to the next victim.

You migh well only see the fruiting bodies at the base of dead treess but
the deadly stuff has been done long before the stuff fruits. Aht killed the
tree?


pk