Honey Fungus
Stu's Images / CC BY-SA 3.0

Fungus · Physalacriaceae

Honey Fungus

Armillaria mellea

Facts

Habitat
Roots and stumps of deciduous trees, especially Oak
Substrate
Parasitic/saprotrophic, root and stump pathogen

Ecological relationships

Grows on

  • Pedunculate OakQuercus robur

    One of the most significant woodland pathogens in Europe, spreads via black rhizomorphs through the soil and can kill mature oaks over several years. Simultaneously a decomposer of dead stumps and a parasite of living trees.

Eaten by

  • Black WoodpeckerDryocopus martius

    Forages on wood colonised by Honey Fungus, feeding on both the fungal tissue and associated beetle larvae.