Mary Ann Hansen

Love fungi and all things microscopic, most things Danish. VT Hokie, but opinions are my own.

[Dr. Kelly Allen @Kelly_S_Allen]

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

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

Fantastic representative of the Fungal Kingdom!

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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.

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

Congratulations, Margery! Well deserved!

[Christine Smart @ChristineSmart6]

What a wonderful well-deserved honor for the amazing Margery Daughtrey! New species of downy mildew named in honor of SIPS researcher https://t.co/Xx1Fw38Z1M

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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.

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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.

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

This is heartening...

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

@GAplantdoc @GAGreenIndustry Hi Jean,

Wow, that is a lot of sporulation! Do you know exactly which cultivar it was on?
Mary Ann

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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

[Insight & Apathy @Came_To_Say_]

Video 1, this hawk followed my eldest and myself around the woods for an hour before deciding to come closer.

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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!

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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.

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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).

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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.

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

Hard to believe this is even a fungus!

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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 (https://t.co/los1MCxIAi). #FungalMonday

[Mary Ann Hansen @plantpathva]

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