Knowledgebase
PUZZLING GRIOWTH ON A TREE #753109
Asked May 31, 2021, 4:43 PM EDT
Tillamook County Oregon
Expert Response
Greetings,
Thank you for reaching out to Extension. To best assist you, are you able to take and attach a photo to your reply here?
The image would enable identification.
Hi Thalia,
Thanks for contacting us, and for attaching these photos. It looks to me like your tree has Hemlock Dwarf Mistletoe, which is a pretty common parasitic plant that grows on hemlocks and other conifers in our region. I've attached a couple of resources here to give you some more information on its lifecycle and the very creative way it takes advantage of our beautiful trees!
If you have a lot of trees right next to this hemlock, or were planning on harvesting it for timber, or spend a lot of time playing right underneath the tree, it could be worth having the parasitized branch removed. But if the tree is relatively out of the way, I would probably just let it play out. Hemlock Dwarf Mistletoe is a natural part of our ecosystem, and is a really cool demonstration of a symbiotic relationship!
Please let me know if you have any additional questions!
Best,
Julia