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Should I remove all
old stumps in order to protect other trees and shrubs in my garden?
Yes.
What can I do about the underground rhizomorphs invading neighbouring
trees?
A rhizomorph will push through thick polythene and even if severed from
the source will continue its mission. Treat with Armillatox. (Visit www.armillatox.co.uk/
go to the honey fungus page). This deflects the rhizomorphs to the surface
where sunlight kills them.
Do I have to use chemicals?
No. You can grow Early Purple Orchids, which are predators. Growing them
will tax your horticultural skills to the limit.
Do Honey Fungus rhizomorphs attack all trees?
No. Susceptible varieties are: Lilac, Privet, Apple, many Flowering Cherries,
Willow, Birch, Walnut, Cedars, Cypresses, Monkey Puzzle and Wellingtonia.
Is anything resistant to the rhizomorphs?
Yes. Resistant species include: Box elder, Californian black walnut, Yew,
Grand and Noble fir, Bamboos, Hombeam, Beech, Ash, Common ivy, Junipers,
Larch, Cherry laurel, Oaks, False acacia and Whitebeam. Annual plants and
lawns are not affected (although mushrooms could sprout through lawns from
rhizomorphs distant from tree roots or from the dead underground roots
of infected trees) Herbaceous perennials appear to be rarely attacked and
seem to be virtually immune.
What do I do with the hole after an infected stump has been ground out?
Remove and compost all debris. Fill with fresh topsoil. Plant annuals
or herbaceous perennials and leave for 18 months. A tree can then be safely
planted. Alternatively chemically treat, or, try your hand at Early Purple
Orchids.
How far can the rhizomorphs spread?
Up to 30 feet away, up to 25 inches deep, or from one tree to the next.
Are the mushrooms edible?
Yes. Make sure they are honey fungus! They can be fried in butter and there
are recipes at www.mssf.org/cookbook/honey
for
- Drying and reconstituting
for use in soups, stews and mushroom loaves
- Pickling
- Spicy Honey Mushroom
Relish
- Honey Mushroom Salad
- Pork Stew with Honey
Mushrooms.
Do the mushrooms
have a medicinal value...allegedly?
Yes. Reduces symptoms of essential and renal hypertension and of neurasthenia.
Used to improve vision and counteract opthalmia and night blindness prevent
respiratory and digestive tract conditions increases blood flow to the
brain and heart without increasing blood pressure decreases heart rate
reduces peripheral and coronary vascular resistance is sedative anticonvulsive
and protects against ionising effects of radiation.'
Is it a member of the Five Mile High Club?
Probably. Spores have been sampled at five miles high though what they
were doing is not recorded. All we know is that there are a lot about.
Virtually every sample of air at ground level contains spores at all times
of the year.
What does the Latin name Armillaria mellea mean?
Scaly like an Armadillo: mel is Latin for honey
Does infected wood glow in the dark?
Yes.
- Aristotle noted it
2000 years ago.
- In medieval times
they lit hay barns with clusters of rhizomorphs and roots covered with
rhizomorphs were considered to have medical power. These were the original
magic wands.
- Soldiers in WW1 put
pieces of decaying wood on their helmets; the glow helped them avoid comrades
in nighttime trenches.
- In WW2 fire wardens
covered timber stacks to prevent enemy aircraft spotting them.
- Keeping the wood
moist (but not saturated) and at a temperature of between 10 and 25 degrees
C should maximise light output.
Will it attack gateposts
and fences?
Yes
How many varieties
of Amarillaria are there in the UK?
Six.
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