I was walking in woods the other day and I came across these two trees, one which is only a black tipped stump and the other next to it which seems to have some sort of fungus growing on its trunk. Is this a tree disease, and should we be worried about it spreading through the woods? Or is this just a normal type of tree fungus? They aren't our woods, but they are our "local" if you like and I definitely wouldn't want anything to happen to it.

This post was last modified: 02-07-2007 03:20 PM by Bill.

Hmmm. Could it be tar, or pitch? Sometimes tar is applied to seal off wounds on trees. It's a bit hard to tell from the photos, though. The upper photo does look like a fungus of some sort, but dead wood usually develops shelf type wood mushrooms.

Kingfisher

I did think of tar covering the stump, it was just the fact that they were right next to each other that made me think they were related.

The fact that the top of the stump is solid black would seem to indicate that it's pitch on the stump. The limb does look like fungus, but perhaps it's just a coincidence? Any chance of some clearer photos?

Kingfisher

There are some tree fungi that look very similar to the one in the picture, so its highly likely to be one of these. Unfortunately, I'm not good at identifying them but it looks like one of the 'jelly' fungi, some of which, like Black Witches Butter, are poisonous.

I'm fairly sure the first picture is tree is tar covering the stump, but the second one does look like some sort of fungus, but its very difficult to tell which. I suggest keeping an eye on the surrounding trees and see if they show any sign of the same fungus on them.

I have been back several times and no new developments there. Definitely no other trees around that have the same thing so need to worry I think.

Thanks Bill, that's good to know.

Kingfisher