Presumably you're worried about honey fungus - the toadstools for that usually appear in September, and they are honeycoloured, usually joined together at the base, so if the fungii you saw were not like that, then its not honey fungus.

I personally still have a problem identifying Honey fungus by the toadstools, but I would certainly be very suspicious that this might be the cause especially with dead tree stumps in close proximity. Too late I would guess treating the birch with Armillatox as the roots from a 20 year specimen will be far reaching. The bootlaces are by definition just like that, very black somewhat flattened in appearance and quite tough to break.best bet is to dig one or two trial areas around the dead stumps to see if you can find any

Gosh, not seen you on here for ages, Bluespruce! We had honey fungus here 2 years ago - great clusters of the toadstools, finally, after 3 years of slow creeping death for several shrubs. But even though we took everything out, I was puzzled because I never found any black bootlace things - though maybe the stump grinder put paid to them, I don't know.

Hi Bamboo, yes also got it here around a hundred year old copper beech in the corner of the garden, and also had to deal with it around old dying fruit trees that I removed when we first came here, the bootlaces can travel a fair distance away from their food source, so very familiar with digging and clearing ground of those ...unfortunately!

Gaughh! And I thought that Texas root rot was bad news! Travellers to or from the UK! Whatever you do, DON'T bring soil or sumps from there to the USA, PLEASE!!

I wouldn't worry right now, Tug - we're all cowering indoors here, barricaded against the feral youth rampaging through the streets... it's embarrassing, we've become a nation of wussy observers - plenty of footage from people standing around watching the carnage and filming it all, but no one actually stopping them. Oh, if only I were 20 years younger...

Risky, and probably inneffective, going in front of a riot without special gear, and about 30 other people to help you, Bamboo. I suspect that what they really needed was for their mums to take them by the ears a little more often 10 years or so ago. Haven't had a riot here in the USA lately--touch wood--but the last race riot we had, I remember about 5% of the rioters trying to advance the cause--the wrong way, in my opinion--and about 95% just taking the opportunity to loot stores, vandalize someone else's property, and bloody their rival gangs!

Spot on Tug, the remark about mums and ears - but too late now, and the mums themselves of similar ilk,usually. Too many semi literate, ill educated, poorly parented people who know their rights but have no grasp of their responsibilities. I know it's not just here in Britain, but it made me gloomy yesterday - at least the Government SAID the right words today...