(Jim Lewis) wrote in message
news:001501c2c58d$5d65abc0$a5122cc7@pavilion...
Speaking of Mycorrhiza . . .

In the current issue of Arizona Highways (which is one of my
favorite magazines, but is NOT a scientific journal!), an
article
about the Kaibab squirrel, found only in the Ponderosa pine
forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (the CLOSELY
related
Albert Squirrel is found in other Arizona Pondersoa forests),
says that these squirrels . . .

"relish truffles. . . .

snip

Anyway, all you Ponderosa Pine Bonsai fans might take note.
Find
a Kaibab squirrel, then let him poop in your pot.

While you are correct that squirrel fecal pellets contain
abundant
mycorrhizal fungi spores, it is unlikely some would get into
bonsai
pots naturally. Squirrels don't normally access bonsai pots.
And
bonsai in nature almost never come on contact with many
ectomycorrhizal fungi.


Well, I _meant_ that last line merely as a grin producer, BUT
y'all in Oregon don't have the Eastern U.S.'s common gray
squirrel, Sciurus caroliniensis, which spends much more time in
my bonsai pots than I care for (though I have no idea whether the
little &^%$# is a truffle lover or not).

snip

But in nature, naturally occuring bonsai typically don't occur
where
Rhizopogons are abundant. And one of the reasons bonsai growers
probably _don't_ want to have mycorrhizae such as Rhizopogons
is that
the inoculated trees tend to grow _very_ rapidly: several feet
per
year from seed is not unheard of.

Hmmm. Maybe there IS a shortcut to fatter trunks by growing in
the ground. ;-)

Thanks for the info on the fungi, too. It was interesting.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - "People,
when Columbus discovered this country, it was plum full of nuts
and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just
about all gone." -- Uncle Dave Macon, old-time musician

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