"LFR" wrote in message news:pYG4d.33810$aW5.4393@fed1read07...
"Mark Herbert" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(simy1) wrote:

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.

I don't know what to tell you about your tree's prognosis, but you may
be able to witness the phenomenon of bioluminescence in those mushrooms
if you check out the gills on a dark night. Fox fire. Eerie.

done that.


Is it possible that it's the wood chips and not the tree roots that are
supporting the mushrooms???

that is my hope, but

1) wood chips around my many hickories do not have even a single JoL
2) those clusters really form a ring around the oak. the mulch island
includes a hickory and the oak. there are none around the hickory.
3) in my yard, I get often mushrooms by the pound, but never by the
tens of pounds over such a small area

I guess I will fertilize and water next spring, and cross my fingers.