Jack o' lanterns galore

[simy1]

At the feet of a large oak on my property (mulched with wood chips out to ten feet) approximately 20 lb of Jack o' lanterns (reddish mushrooms) have suddenly sprouted ( about ten clusters, each with 10 to 30 mushrooms). I have never seen anything like that, specially considering that we are having a drought. They are all within 6 ft of the trunk but none directly at the base of the trunk. I hear that the fungus is extremely pathogenic, that such blooming indicates it has invaded the roots, and the tree will certainly die soon. The tree looks healthy right now, and it must be 100 years old (approximately 5 ft diameter). Anyone has any experience with that? JoL definitely prefers buried wood or roots and oak wood.

[Mark Herbert]

I don't know what to tell you about your tree's prognosis, but you may be able to witness the phenomenon of bioluminescence in those mushrooms if you check out the gills on a dark night. Fox fire. Eerie.

[LFR]

Is it possible that it's the wood chips and not the tree roots that are supporting the mushrooms???

[simy1]

that is my hope, but

1) wood chips around my many hickories do not have even a single JoL 2) those clusters really form a ring around the oak. the mulch island includes a hickory and the oak. there are none around the hickory. 3) in my yard, I get often mushrooms by the pound, but never by the tens of pounds over such a small area

I guess I will fertilize and water next spring, and cross my fingers.