White stuff on tree trunk - Ask Extension
Hi. In my back wooded area there is a tree we previously cut down because of a beetle I believe, but now there is a white growth on the stump. It wa...
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White stuff on tree trunk #352780
Asked August 13, 2016, 1:12 PM EDT
Hi. In my back wooded area there is a tree we previously cut down because of a beetle I believe, but now there is a white growth on the stump. It was a pine tree.
My neighbor has the fast-growing cedars in between our yards and I noticed it was growing at the base of one of those as well.
Do you know what it is? Is it an infestation?
Union County North Carolina
Expert Response
In the case of your dead pine that has been removed, what you are seeing is a fungal decay organism commonly called white rot. I don’t know what may have originally killed your pine, but it could have been a fungal root rot.
A fungal root rot is what appears to be occurring with your neighbor’s cedar (probably Leyland cypress, which is over-used as a fast growing, screening plant) can move up into the main trunk of the tree. There is no chemical control for this, and your neighbor’s tree may succumb to this fungus.
Thanks for using eXtension.
Debbie
