United-Kingdom
E. E. Green
Fungi, trees and pollards
A hollow, ancient oak - a thousand years of history, biology and service to man.
Abstract
We stand on the threshold of understanding how
trees can survive to a very great age. The questions
we ask will help us discover and understand the
complex relationship between the tree and its co-
evolutionary micro-organisms especially fungi.
Through these old and traditionally cut (pollarded)
trees we will also learn about past management
that will help us today and in the future care for
these trees and will help us reveal our centuries of
landscape and social history.
Every tree is a ‘unique, individual, dynamic,
support system’ for fungi and bacteria. However
this complex and co-evolutionary relationship is
only just beginning to be understood. Decay and
especially the hollowing process in trees is now
1er colloque européen sur les trognes, Vendôme, 26, 27 et 28 octobre 2006
seen as part of the natural aging process,
generally beneficial to the tree and of very great
importance for biodiversity. However all too often
old, dead and dying trees have been the first choice
as a source of wood fuel.
Man has been creating pollards at least since
Neolithic times. Pollards as ‘working’ trees cut for
a purpose, would have been protected unless their
vigour declined, even if they were full of decay and
hollowing. They have therefore played a
significant part in the continuity of the decaying
wood habitat.
Can ‘tree archaeology’ help raise awareness of the
importance of pollards as part of our living
cultural heritage and thereby help protect their
value for biodiversity.
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Back in the UK some people in conservation began
to re-pollard old trees which had been out of their
cutting cycle for many years, perhaps even
centuries. The idea was not only to help prolong the
life of the old trees but to restore part of our living
culture. There were many mistakes and trees died
after they were cut. Unfortunately the deaths
continue today.
Decay fungi can also be divided into heartwood/
ripewood hollowing (decay) fungi and latent or
endotrophic fungi in the sapwood.
At this time interest in all aspects of ancient trees
was increasing and the Ancient Tree Forum was
formed. People from all walks of life and
disciplines began meeting at different localities
around the UK and in more recent times across the
whole of Europe. Questions like how does a tree
survive for a 1000 years? How can a short lived
species such as a birch reach such a size and age?
Hollowing of trees was a question raised
repeatedly. During this period scientists such as
Mattheck, Pearce, Raimbault, Rayner and Shigo
began to increase our knowledge of many aspects
of tree biology and physiology.
A hollowing ash tree which is also in the process of
‘growing downwards’ (canopy retrenching) – both
are survival strategies for aging trees.
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A tree is now properly recognised as merely a
unique, dynamic, individual, support system for
fungi. This co-evolutionary relationship is
beginning to be understood and fungi can be
divided into the symbiotic relationship between
mycorrhizal fungi (the food gatherers) and trees or
the wood decay fungi (the recyclers). Decay fungi
can also be divided into heartwood / ripewood
decay fungi and latent or endotrophic fungi in the
sapwood.
In general terms heartwood fungi are only capable
of decaying wood which is dysfunctional ie dead
and not able to enter living wood. The
consequences are usually a hollow or hollowing
tree or root.
Eiffel Tower tree – an oak tree that is being
hollowed out by Inonotus dryadeus and left
standing on its buttress roots.
The Eiffel Tower tree is an excellent example.
Standing on its buttress roots and completely
hollow it is very light on its roots and presumably
very flexible and therefore able to withstand very
high winds such as the 1987 ‘hurricane’. Unlike its
neighbours which were full of undecayed wood and
very heavy and inflexible – the result was that they
came out by their roots.
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The endotrophic fungi can be called latent fungi as
they generally remain in a dormant state inside the
tree in a non active state until the physiology of the
tree changes e.g. the sapwood becomes
dysfunctional. At this point they are activated and
begin the process of decay. Often those fungi that
decay dead limbs in situ on tree are called aerial
pruners. In many circumstances the process of
decay does not start where the wood is too dry for
the fungi such as during the seasoning process and
in stag headed oak trees. Where the process is
allowed to continue naturally the wood has usually
begun to decay at different speeds often producing
different colours and textures. These areas are
surrounded by dark lines called pseudo-sclerotial
plates which are produced by either different
species of fungi or different individuals of a
particular fungus ‘defending’ their territory. Alan
Rayner comments “If you took away the two major
elements of a tree – the lignin and the cellulose you
would still be left with a gossamer outline of the
tree made by the fungi”.
Fungi have ‘drawn’ a picture of an open grown
tree in the cross section of this tree trunk. The
fungal Kingdom is recognized as being nearer to
the animal Kingdom than the plant Kingdom and
here they show their artistic abilities.
The practice of leaving sap risers appears to be very
beneficial in helping to maintain functional
columns of sapwood after cutting. I also believe we
should study the practice of the beaver (castor) as it
has evolved to harvest small wood (UK = coppice).
It leaves stub ends approximately 30cms in length
and never cuts back to old wood. In fact this is the
1er colloque européen sur les trognes, Vendôme, 26, 27 et 28 octobre 2006
method used by our ancestors when they used an
axe.
It appears that our ancestors also recognized
‘wispy’ or ‘whiskery’ trees (epicormic growth) as
trees that would be most suitable for regular cutting
and therefore more likely to respond positively to
cutting. I wonder if our ancestors recognized that
the height that the autumn leaves remain is the
height to cut when starting a new pollard?
We have evidence that 3400 years ago Neolithic
man was cutting pollards. A wooden handled flint
tool – perhaps much older, is said to have been used
to cut cereals but is far more akin to a modern
handsaw.
For this Pholiota species to have accumulated
enough resources to produce at least 2 Kg of fruit
bodies on this recently cut and exposed beech trunk
illustrates that the mycelium was present and very
active in the centre of the tree prior to felling.
We have driven along the incredibly imaginative
“Autoroute des Arbres”. For many kilometers along
its banks there are different species of trees planted
at intervals. Today across Europe you will find tens
of thousands of kilometers that are lined with young
amenity trees. Once the trees reach a certain height
and perceived as a danger they are felled. Billions
of trees which have no future. By using the “Route
des Arbres” as an example can we cut some of
these trees in the different forms found across
Europe – a giant exhibition of traditional, working
tree management? Our living pollards are our living
heritage and just as much part of our very rich
European cultural heritage as any man made
building, work of art or literary artefacts.
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cross-sections of a cut tree illustrating the pseudo
sclerotial plates (individual fungal defense barriers
against each other) in the horizontal and vertical
plane.
Fruit bodies of an activated endotrophic fungus,
Chondosporium purpureum, fruiting on the surface
of a recently cut tree. This also illustrates the
presence of a latent fungus which is stimulated by
physiological dysfunction of the wood.

E. E. Green
Ancient Tree Forum
C/o Woodland trust
Autumn park
Grantham
Lincolnshire NG31 6LL
United Kingdom
ted.green@care4free.net

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