The last couple years the tree in our backyard has been sick. There are dying branches and while the base looks like something out of a fantasy realm, something must be wrong. We’ve been bringing it to our landlords attention since we first saw the signs but it hasn’t been addressed. Any thoughts on what could be happening? We are located in the PNW, north west Oregon.
by Own_Double2700
23 Comments
It’s unwell with lumber that’s worth a shit ton. Looks like burls.
Edit: I’ve been corrected, and also reminded that this phrasing really diminished how great this tree is as is.
I don’t know, but that first picture makes it look pretty happy.
Yeah those conk looking fungus means the heartwood is decaying or already dead. This tree is a goner.
It’s nature being nature.
That is just an old tree. It has taken damage at some point and started to heal. The shelf fungus means there is some stage of internal rot. The black happens to some maples. I have one that has been almost completely black for about a decade, and it is still solid. This tree is on its way out, but it looks like it lived one hell of a life.
Time.
That’s a lotta burl
just looking at the first picture my thought was that with some regular appointments with a psychiatrist and the right medication it will be right again in no time.
A kind of ganoderma fungus (probably an invasive species)
Does anyone else see the face of an old lady?
That’s not a tree that’s an Ent.
He’s old! That’s really it.
As trees get older they often start to lose their heartwood to rot, they’ll lose many branches and might keep just 2-3 main large ones. Their trunks get more gnarled and twisted and that allows all the moss and ferns to grow. Especially in the rainforest climate of the PNW.
Looks like a drunk orc from
LOR. Let it ride if it can’t hurt anything. Pretty cool.
I don’t know if it’s healthy or not, but it really looks fantastic! I think you should enjoy it as much as you can for however long it lasts!
Treebeard syndrome
I’ve seen that guy in a movie somewhere
Looks fine. Just leave it be. It’s been here longer than you
Elephantitus
She’s a beauty!!!
I’ll take that tree off your hands for free…for disposal…
Homie, that isn’t a tree. It’s an ent
She burly
Those are burls (those bulbous growths) – they’re actually super valuable to woodworkers and don’t neccesarily mean your tree is dying, though the shelf fungus does indicate some internal decay is happening.