THERE'S A FUNGUS AMOUNGUS

The Indy Cars are at the track today....Road America, America's National Park of Speed.

While shooting at turn 9 under the shade of this beautiful basswood tree (Tilia americana) I glanced up into the branches and saw this humungous fungus growing. The tree looks pretty healthy at first sight....but this external manifestation of an internal mycelium indicates to this biologist that this tree will not be with us for much longer. 

It is slowly being eaten alive from the inside out. The external part is merely the "mushroom"....a sporangium for getting the reproductive spores to the outside of the host plant where they can blow around an find another host to infect.

Pity......this is the only shade tree in the area.

Large is best.