At the feet of a large oak on my property (mulched with wood chips out
to ten feet) approximately 20 lb of Jack o' lanterns (reddish
mushrooms) have suddenly sprouted ( about ten clusters, each with 10
to 30 mushrooms). I have never seen anything like that, specially
considering that we are having a drought. They are all within 6 ft of
the trunk but none directly at the base of the trunk. I hear that the
fungus is extremely pathogenic, that such blooming indicates it has
invaded the roots, and the tree will certainly die soon. The tree
looks healthy right now, and it must be 100 years old (approximately 5
ft diameter). Anyone has any experience with that? JoL definitely
prefers buried wood or roots and oak wood.