MOUNTAIN TREES 



In cutting into old or decaying cedar, 

 oblong pockets filled with a brown char- 

 coal-like mass are often seen. This is 

 the work of a fungus (Polyporus am- 

 arus) whose mycelial threads penetrate 

 everywhere through the heartwood, 

 weakening the tree and destroying its 

 value. The fruiting bodies, produced 

 annually, issue from knot holes and are 

 greedily devoured by insects and squir- 

 rels who relish the soft, mushy, knob- 

 shaped masses of spores. 



The Incense cedar is the host of a cer- 

 tain tree thief, a leafless mistletoe 

 (Phoradendron juniperus librocedri), 

 the luxuriant growths of which are often 

 conspicuous on older trees. Being a 

 light-seeker this mistletoe is most often 

 found high in the tree. It is long-lived 

 and has been known to live more than 

 220 years. Longitudinal rows of small 

 holes in the wood are caused by wood- 

 peckers or by the roots of the Phora- 

 dendron. 



68 



