HONEY, I ATE THE WOOD

There are at least five species of Honey Fungus common in Britain. Some are more aggressive at attacking woody plants than others but they all look fairly similar.

Autumn is a good time to identify honey fungus toadstools which are honey-coloured at first, gradually turning brown from the centre of the cap and eventually dissolving into a black mess.

This crop has occurred on the dead stump of a plum tree in my garden.  

A good indicator to confirm identification is the pale ring around the stalk of each toadstool, just below the cap.

  

 Honey fungus can spread through the soil to other live specimens of susceptible trees and shrubs but control is difficult.  The most effective control is a rich population of other fungi in the soil which can out-compete the honey fungus.  It is at its worst in sterile gardens where all the dead and dying material has been tidied away.

I hope my garden will resist the spread of the fungus - not too tidy, I'm proud to say.

In mixed woodlands honey fungus can recycle dead wood and do a good job.

It's at its worst in the monoculture of spruce plantations, where it can spread extensively from tree to tree, decaying the stem and killing the roots.