Shaggy polypore / Velvet fungus (Inonotus hispidus)

Common host(s)                    Particularly ash but also other broadleaves including elm, walnut, plane.

Colonisation strategy            Gains entry through fresh wounds, broken branches or branch stubs

Symptoms                             Annual fruiting body often solitary, domed, furry/velvety surface. Initially pale brown/orange/rust, later turning black and bristly.

Type of rot                            Simultaneous white rot

Part(s) of tree affected          Fruit bodies on trunk and main lateral branches.

Significance                           Quickly destabilises the wood and causes brittle fractures in ash. Less of a problem in London plane as it does not weaken the wood as much.

All photographs are reproduced by kind permission of the Arboricultural Information Exchange