ABC Wednesday - Xylogenous

We have reached the tricky letter X for this week's ABC Wednesday so its a browse through the short dictionary entry, and the result - Xylogenous, a biological term for growing on wood.   The fungi growing on this tree is the wonderfully named Dryad's Saddle, named after those mythical tree nymphs the Dryads, who it would seem were just the right size to ride one of these.   The Dryad's Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) is edible but not recommended when it gets to this size.  As the guide says soft at first then tough.  It tiers on trunks of living or dead trees, especially elm or sycamore.

The other grower on wood, lichen, on a fence pole pictured on a snowy day.  A long hard winter like the one that is now long behind us is sometimes called a Blackthorn Winter

and every branch of this Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) bush if not covered with moss is covered with the shrubby Ramalina farinacea lichen.  It must be a very old bush but is always laden with sloe berries in autumn. In fact my last lot of Sloe Gin was made from this tree, and the end result was eXcellent.

eXit to ABC Wednesday where there are lots more words starting with X