A RAINY DAY
LARGE OLD RED OAK
CHICKEN MUSHROOMS
LAETIPOROUS SULPHUREUSThursday, 7:45 AM. 58 degrees, wind W, light. It is raining and the barometer predicts the same. It will be an inside day.
I got a call from a resident on N. Second St. regarding a large mushroom on a tree. Upon investigation, it (they…there were several) was the chicken mushroom, Laetiporous sulphureus, in the Polyporaceae. The species is common on oaks, it is edible, and when young is said to taste like chicken and is very sought after. The mushroom itself is not injurious to the tree, as it is only the fruiting body of the fungus, but the threadlike mycelium consumes the heartwood . In my experience there is not much that can be done about the infection except to promote the health of the tree through watering and fertilization. I have seen old trees live many years with bracket fungi such as these living on them.
Eating dinner on the porch several nights ago I heard the unmistakable call of a turkey very nearby. I said to Joan, “Zack (the young coastguardsman next door) is getting pretty good with that turkey call,” and I told him so when I saw him the next day. He informed me he does not turkey hunt. It looks like we have a new bird to watch for.
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