I realize this may not be gardening exactly, but wasn't sure the best place to ask. I pruned off some tiny sprouts coming off this old sycamore tree and saw this huge thing I hadn't seen before. Is this "oh cool lookin' mushroom" or "idiot new homeowner is fixin' to lose a tree?" I have no idea what I'm doing but there are a couple huge trees (this sycamore and a huge pecan) in my front yard and I want to do right for them.
by tsmith-512
2 Comments
No reason it can’t be both
I wouldn’t care to speculate on the precise taxonomy of this mushroom, but I’m pretty confident it’s not pathogenic — that is, it’s not directly killing your tree
HOWEVER it may well be indirectly killing your tree by consuming the heartwood, hollowing it out from the inside and compromising its structural integrity
It may take years or decades to do that to the point that it puts the tree and/or adjacent structures at risk though, so if the tree appears healthy you can probably just make a note to ask an arborist about it
I remember leaving a note for a neighbor whose chinaberry was 100% dead and being eaten out aggressively by wood-decay fungus, to the effect that “you should get this looked at” — ultimately the tree fell on his car during one of the ice storms and crushed it, which was very validating, but that was almost two years after I left the note
Suffice to say your tree is not an imminent life/health/safety risk
That’s a decent sized fruiting body. You should get an arborist out to look at it. You don’t need to panic but I wouldn’t put it off till spring (and assessment of the tree will be easier before it goes dormant.)
Prepare yourself for bad news. Sycamore is a poor compartmentalizer of decay and by the time it’s popping a conk this size the fungus has been active for years probably. Likely best case is that you’re moving into “manage the tree’s decline” territory, which to be clear can still mean years of life. But that’ll depend on what else is going on with the tree and potential targets.