I attempted to scrape the light salve (seen on the sides as the crusty gold stuff) off of the eschar to better photograph the scab from the top, but removed the top layer of the eschar itself, revealing something I've never seen before--maybe something no one has seen before. I believe the light areas are roots drawn into the scab. When the eschar detaches normally, the roots have been drawn completely up into the eschar and it just falls out, leaving no sign of roots behind in the raw tissue.

There is an odd knob of flesh at the top that stayed there when the eschar came off. (Best seen in the enlargement of photo 11.)

In this extraordinary photo, the still-attached roots are visible at the top, at 2:30 o'clock, at the bottom somewhat, and at 9 o'clock. The white area in the tissue at 10 o'clock appears to be a broken off root. Bad news.

The root at the top (at the highest point of the eschar) which is difficult to make out, is the largest root I've ever seen on an eschar. When the scab was almost detached, it was hanging by this thick root. I made the mistake of walking across the house with the eschar unsupported to get a camera to photograph it. It broke, leaving the root actually hanging out of the tissue as can be seen in the photo taken after the eschar is out.