What causes there's a big mushroom growing out of my tree?
Decay fungi enter through wounds — a mower scrape, a torn limb, a flush cut that removed the branch collar, roots severed by construction, or the stub left behind by topping. Where the fungus is matters as much as that it is there: some colonize the roots and butt and are dangerous out of all proportion to their size, while others sit high in the stem in an old branch wound and mean considerably less. Which species it is matters too, because different decay fungi consume different components of the wood, and some leave behind wood that deforms before it fails while others leave wood that snaps without warning.
What you'd see
A hard, woody, hoof-shaped or plate-shaped growth pushing straight out of the bark — often white or cream underneath, brown, gray, or banded on top. Sometimes a single shelf, sometimes a stack. Common spots are the base, an old wound, a branch stub, or the flat face where a limb was cut years ago. Some kinds are soft, orange or yellow, and grow in overlapping clusters. Some return to the same spot every year; others rot away over winter and come back.
Related
- There's a big mushroom growing out of my tree — what should I do?→
- Is there's a big mushroom growing out of my tree an emergency?→
- Can there's a big mushroom growing out of my tree be fixed without removing the tree?→
- How long can I leave there's a big mushroom growing out of my tree before it becomes dangerous?→
- How much does it cost to deal with there's a big mushroom growing out of my tree?→
- The bark is falling off my tree — what should I do?→
- Is the bark is falling off my tree an emergency?→
- Can the bark is falling off my tree be fixed without removing the tree?→