A Natural History of the Hedgerow by Wright John;

Author:Wright, John;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Profile Books

Ash keys.

As the idea became more widespread that ash was unsuitable as a hedgerow tree, it gradually became less frequently planted. The wood, however, was too useful to dispense with and ash was planted and coppiced instead of pollarded. Cut on a six or seven-year cycle, the poles were used for everything from walking sticks and hoops, to hurdles and wattle fences. A fourteen-year cycle produced poles with a more noble purpose – to support hops.

Although ash does not support ectomycorrhizal fungi (those with large fruiting bodies), it sports a large number of saprotrophic species, which live off dead organic matter such as leaf litter or fallen timber, digesting it from within. The most spectacular is the dryad’s saddle, Polyporus squamosus. This splendid bracket fungus is frequently visible in hedgerow ash trees, distinctive for its foxy, speckled top combined with cream-coloured pores. Fungi too rot down, and sometimes the underside of this species becomes infected by bright orange spheres of Nectria peziza, a close relative of the much-hated coral spot fungus – the nemesis of many a garden tree. Another great beauty is the large bracket fungus, Inonotus hispidus, which has a furry, reddish-brown top and beige tubes below that produce droplets of water.

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