Today at the National Botanic Gardens

Nothing much of note as we walked around the gardens this morning with the wildlife volunteers, just the usual common species for this time of year. However, we did come across this example of spalted wood on a recently-felled tree.  The following is an extract from the internet




"The thick black lines that appear to artistically meander through the wood actually mark out fungal war zones! Formed by heavy deposits of black melanin pigment and hardened combinations of fungal filaments and wood, zone lines are used by antagonistic fungi of different species or even genetically distinct fungi of the same species to protect their own territory and resources. The intricate swirls of bold lines, unexpected splotches of color and random patterns are a wood-sculptor's dream."