I discovered this red maple trying to commit suicide - via root strangulation - on my way to work. Just in case the girdling roots don't finish the job, it also looks like the tree was planted too deeply (note telephone-pole-like look of trunk at soil line). #TerribleTuesdayPlant

Check out this cool video of the response of Witches' Cauldron mushroom (Sarcosoma globosum) to humans blowing on its fruiting body. Video recorded by Steve Pener on mushroom walk guided by Dave Paton in Pond Mountain Natural Area in NY (PondMountainTrust.org). #FungalMonday

Hard to believe this is even a fungus!

We are quickly learning about diseases of hemp in Virginia this year, including southern blight, caused by the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii. Note the small, rust-colored sclerotia in the close-up view.

A New Way to Fight Crop Diseases, With a Smartphone nyti.ms/2Zn8lkK

Fungal Monday: This lovely Scarlet Cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea), one of the cup fungi, is a little out-of-date -- I found it in the woods in southern Indiana back in April. #FungalMonday

A major case of girdling roots in hemp! Girdling roots trace back to earlier methods of container propagation, but this one really took the cake! Needless to say, the foliage didn't look great either (plant on right).

Fungal Monday: Here is a lovely picture from the woods of northern Illinois, sent in by my friend, Robin. Does anyone know what this is? I have never seen it before and I don't know the tree species it is growing on. Big as a dinner plate. #FungalMonday

Not all leaf browning is normal at this time of year... red and pin oak trees on the Virginia Tech campus are showing dramatic symptoms of bacterial leaf scorch, caused by Xylella fastidiosa, this fall. Often a yellow halo is present inside the marginal leaf scorch.

Eastern Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) needles looking a bit yellow / brown this time of year, but there are no smoking guns -- this is just normal seasonal needle drop on a conifer. Only the older needles are affected -- once they drop, all you will see is green!

Up-close footage of an avian mushroom forager...

This is heartening...

One way of dealing with the crisis: My cousin from Denmark told me that the stores in Denmark are all out of hand sanitizer and YEAST! Apparently the Danes' response to a national crisis is to go into a baking frenzy.

Q: Why are my hostas turning white?? A: Remember those cold temperatures a week and a half ago? Frost injury bleaches hosta leaves. Leaves that were more protected are less affected. Don't worry, plants will grow out of the damage.

More cold injury symptoms from the May 8-9 temperature drop in Blacksburg, VA: bleached/tan leaves on Japanese maple.

Congratulations, Margery! Well deserved!

Here's how lovely peonies can look when they DON'T have Botrytis Blight! Happy COVID-19 Friday!

The 17-year cicada (Magicicada spp.) is out in full force around Blacksburg! Here is a mating pair I passed on my bike ride the other day, the deafening sound of the males all around me. Soon the female will be off to lay her eggs in the twig of a woody plant.

Fantastic representative of the Fungal Kingdom!

We are seeing infected plants all over the Northeast so early this year, please report any BDM sightings here: basil.agpestmonitor.org. I just heard about an infection on one of the resistant cultivars locally, normally we wouldn’t be observing this until late summer :(