#Ants in the Saddle -Part 1

Jean Parker posted several pictures of a Dryad' Saddle mushroom in her tree.  This and a few ants crawling on it have made a story that requires two blogs for the telling.  First Jean's story.

"I had a tree removal service come by to give me a quote to remove a big old silver maple. He showed me how it was rotting by stabbing in a hole with his pen to demonstrate how soft it was. Falling apart.

So....a week later I have a fungi! No doubt in protest to the stabbing. My Seek app says its a Dryad's Saddle. I want Mark proud of me!!  I look closely and see ants busy taking pieces of it UP the tree. Probably penthouse spoils. Wow nature never ceases to amaze."

Dryad's Saddle (Cerioporus squamosus) is a polypore bracket fungus which is well described in this MDC Discover Nature Field Guide.

"This species lives as a network of cells (mycelium) within living trees as a parasite, and dead trees as a saprobe, that digests and decomposes the wood. When ready to reproduce, the mycelium develops the bracket that emerges from the log—this is the reproductive structure. In polypores, spores are produced in the pores beneath and are released to begin new mycelia elsewhere."

This one grew out of a living tree.  In this case it is a parasite, attacking the heartwood of a weakened tree that is dying.  They are often found where branches have been sawed or broken off at the trunk as you see above

Dryads in Greek literature were wood nymphs, specifically the nymphs of oak  trees, though the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general.  The saddle shape of this mushroom was felt to be just the right size for a wood nymph.  The Greek gods punished any mortals who harmed trees without first giving gifts to the tree-nymphs.  The god's certainly resented the poking a pen into the tree!  What would be an appropriate gift for a tree god is Greek to me.

Dryad's Saddle-  Wikimedia

Like many other fungi, it is valuable in the woods, decomposing wood.  Just imagine what our woods would look like if fungi didn't start breaking down dead trees - dead tree trunks stacked hundreds of feet high?  This polypore especially likes elms but also works on maples, poplar, willow, beech and ash.

The body can be yellow to brown and has "squamules" or scales on its upper side. On the underside one can see the pores that are characteristic of the genus Polyporus; they are made up of tubes packed together closely. The tubes are between 1 and 12 mm long. The stalk is thick and short, up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long.  -Wikipedia 

Mark Bower

Andy Vernon- Wikimedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another common name is "pheasant back". 

The most intriguing part of this mushroom was its odor, a nearly perfect mimic of watermelon rind!  The fresh tender edges are considered edible and Maxine Stone in Mushrooms of Missouri describes a way to turn it in to a mimic of watermelon candy!

Coming next, Ants in the Saddle Part 2

Mushroom-collecting.com has pictures and cooking suggestions.  Never eat any mushroom unless you are absolutely sure of its identification.