Daldinia concentrica
King Alfred´s cake
Fruiting body is 2–10 cm across, hemispherical to subglobose, brown at first, then becoming black and shiny. Flesh concentrically zoned silver-grey and blackish. Gregarious on
dead wood, especially beech and ash. Season all year. This common fungus is very hard and carbonaceous, much like a lump of coal. When you section Daldinia concentrica through the middle, you can see concentric zones. These zones each represent a season’s growth of reproduction. The small bumps on the surface of the fruiting body are the necks of the perithecia. It causes a soft rot.
Fruiting body is 2–10 cm across, hemispherical to subglobose, brown at first, then becoming black and shiny.
Tree Species: Birch
Part of a plant- attacked: Tree trunk
Pest significance: Less harmful
Pest Category: Fungi
Invasive Species: No
Present in EU: Yes
Pest group: Fungi
Affected part of wood: Sapwood
Depth of damages: Under bark only, Up to 0,5 cm depth, Up to 2 cm depth, Up to 5 cm depth
The extent of damage: Whole trunk
Prevalence in Europe: Common
Damaged products: Firewood, Furniture, Lumber, boards and prisms, Wood chips
Roundwood size: Branches and twigs, Diameter 50+, Diameter from 10 up to 50 cm
Wood discoloration: Yes
Pest subcategory: White-rot
Similar pests
Cytospora chrysosperma
Nectria fuckeliana
