Comments

  3. stwriley says

    Not a good sign for the tree though. Chicken of the Woods only grows on dead or dying trees, not healthy ones.

  6. StevoR says

    @ ^ larpar : Get one of his students to do it for a share in the mushrooms or have some one else help?

    Ask the tree’s owner and let them know about this if you know them or perhaps even as a way of meeting them?

  7. unclefrogy says

    you can clearly see the damage is old enough that the tree is beginning to grow around it .looks like the heart is gone or soon will be, not very many years left It would be nice if someone could harvest some of the “mushrooms” before the tree is removed

  8. moonbat52 says

    I’ve been collecting and eating these for years. They don’t taste like chicken at all, at least not to me. I get a distinctly citrus under note.

  9. Matthew Currie says

    It’s nice and,as moonbat says, kind of citrusy, if you get it at the right time. If it’s a little late, there’s a musty element that comes in even when it’s still quite edible. Definitely worth a try, though.

  10. StevoR says

    @7. unclefrogy : Dunno if possible and guess it depends on the property owner in this case but it could be a good idea to leave the dead tree to decay naturally when it gos gien it takes along time for hoolows toform and theyar evital habitat for birds and some other fauna. Different if it poses a safety risk but in the (Aussie ) bush esp and where possible leaving dead trees as habitat and structure for perching is the best option in my view. So, hopefully, maybe they won’t remove that tree?

    Also many species can survive for a long time without the central heartwood growing and thriving off just the cambium ring layer between the bark and heartwood so there’s that altho’maybe species vary.. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambium )

  11. StevoR says

    Clarity fix : …leave the dead tree to decay naturally when it goes given it takes a long time for hollows to form* and they are vital habitat..

    .* Approx 80 years at least in local Eucalpyts even for a small one from what I recall from hearing a talk on the whole tree hollows topic a while ago.

  13. StevoR says

    On dead trees value :

    I now understand that large numbers of dead trees are critical to functioning forest ecosystems and sometimes, at the risk of hyperbole, I occasionally say they are ultimately more important to forest ecosystems than live trees.

    There is no disputing the ecological importance of dead trees. Dead trees and down wood play an important role in ecosystems by providing wildlife habitat, cycling nutrients, aiding plant regeneration, decreasing erosion, and influencing drainage and soil moisture and carbon storage, among other values.

    Source : https://www.thewildlifenews.com/2018/12/20/the-ecological-value-of-dead-trees/

    Plus on tree hollows

    Hollows are an important element of the Australian landscape and ecosystem processes. In South East Queensland alone, over 130 species of wildlife have been identified as being dependent on
    hollows for their survival.

    A diversity of tree species including rainforest trees and mangroves have a tendency to develop hollows as
    they age, and in doing so, provide innumerable living places for native animals and plants. Most habitat trees
    however are old ‘gum trees’. These seasoned trees play a crucial role within their ecosystems for maintaining
    biodiversity.

    The age at which trees develop hollows varies widely, however, large hollows are typically associated with trees that are at least 100 years old. As a general rule as a tree becomes older, it develops more and larger hollows.

    Source : https://www.lfwseq.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LfW-Note-VEGETATION-V7_The-Value-of-Habitat-Trees_WEB.pdf

    Dunno how much of that applies to North American and specificaly here Minnesotan trees here but still.

    Oh and as well :

    Do you know that a dead tree is a nursery for more than eighty birds in North America? Cavity-nesters include 10 species of owls, 7 ducks, 2 falcons, all 21 woodpeckers, and about 40 songbirds.

    Source : https://cavityconservation.com/value-of-dead-trees-2/

    Albiet a bit woodpecker-focused.

  14. StevoR says

    @ 12. Silentbob : Firstly I am sober, I just can’t type well. My hands are bit stuffed and clumsy, the computer seems to keep bloody switching letters on me.

    Secondly, to think you have the gall to talk about John Morales comments being worthless then post off topic, false, abusive, trollish comments like that.

    Thirdly, I notice you still haven’t answered my questions asked of you days ago here :

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/09/25/some-good-news-2/#comment-2278771

    As I predicted given your past failures to honestly engage in discussion and previous cowardly refusal to answer such questions before.

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