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Tree stump "vomiting" fungi

 
Susan Mené
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Can anyone explain this phenomenon to me? The tree was cut down a year ago. The stump is dry, not visibly rotting.
This is after the orange stuff thinned out a bit; it had been quite thick.
20260505_093138.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20260505_093138.jpg]
 
Timothy Norton
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That looks like a form of orange "dog vomit" slime mold coming from the stump.

My best guess is that fungi is slowly eating the lignin from the dead stump and you are seeing the aftermath. Nothing wrong with it, just nature taking its course.
 
Susan Mené
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Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. What do you think of this, perhaps?
https://purduelandscapereport.org/article/orange-goo-dramatic-but-harmless/
 
Timothy Norton
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That is really interesting, I can't say that I have seen that before.

In your picture, is the farthest part of the tree a stump or a still standing tree attached to the same stump?

I'm curious, if it is all just a stump that has been dry for some time, if there may somehow still be some living tissue in it that got infected and now is pumping out goop?
 
Jay Angler
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We get slime molds on our chip pile and magically showing up in garden beds when it feels like it. One year it was around the base of a tomato plant in a bed that likely was high in lignin, and I was assured here on permies that it would do not harm and it didn't.

I certainly could understand how it got its colloquial name!
 
Burra Maluca
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Slime moulds are utterly fascinating. They're like a community of hermits who all come together once a year to their thing, decide who does what, do it, then go back home to their caves.

I can relate...

 
Joao Winckler
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Slime moulds are great fun. I had one appear overnight on a wood chip path last summer — bright yellow, looked completely alien. Came back the next morning and it had moved a few inches. Gone by the end of the week. The stump breakdown is probably what's feeding it, even if the wood looks dry on the surface.
 
Anne Miller
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To me that is Mother Nature's way go helping something return to the soil aka decomposition.

https://permies.com/t/140811/Dog-Vomit-Fungus

https://permies.com/t/141149/Dog-vomit-fungus-growing-tomato
 
Susan Mené
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Burra. Loved the video; it was oddly sooththing!
 
Susan Mené
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Timothy Norton wrote:That is really interesting, I can't say that I have seen that before.

In your picture, is the farthest part of the tree a stump or a still standing tree attached to the same stump?

I'm curious, if it is all just a stump that has been dry for some time, if there may somehow still be some living tissue in it that got infected and now is pumping out goop?



Great observation and questions!  

    Hi! sorry it took so long to respond.  It's a still standing tree attached to the same stump, we removed the other part just under a year ago.   I hate taking down trees, last year we took down two.  One was a heartbreaker, over 100 years old, but was becoming a danger (dropped some large, killer-sized branches at random), the other was the one now showing the fungi in the trunk.  I can't remember why we took that one.
    My next door neighbors are a young couple, teachers, very garden/farm minded (future permies?).  The woman's mother comes down from upstate New York and spends 5 out of 7 days week JOYFULLY caring for their toddler son while they work.  Through this fun grandma, I asked and found out that some of our trees are seriously shading a part of their yard that they want to garden in, so they are optimizing the space they have.  The young couple would NEVER ask, and I know they can't afford it, I will make sure we will trim the trees for that couple (haven't told my husband yet, haha).  I know very little about caring for trees, will this harm the trees?
 
M.K. Dorje Sr.
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It's hard to say without knowing more about your situation. For example- what kind of trees they are, how big they are, etc.  However, if you seek out the advice and help of a certified arborist with a good track record, you should have the answer to your question. Getting a second opinion (and bid) from a second arborist might possibly be a good option, too. Tree work can be expensive. But finding an arborist with a wood chipper might actually be an added benefit in such a situation. Good luck!

 
Susan Mené
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M.K. Dorje Sr. wrote:It's hard to say without knowing more about your situation. For example- what kind of trees they are, how big they are, etc.  However, if you seek out the advice and help of a certified arborist with a good track record, you should have the answer to your question. Getting a second opinion (and bid) from a second arborist might possibly be a good option, too. Tree work can be expensive. But finding an arborist with a wood chipper might actually be an added benefit in such a situation. Good luck!


    Thanks, I have so much to learn about trees. Adding some basic facts to my post would have made a better question, haha.  
    Why I haven't "chipped" any is beyond me!   After Hurricane/superstorm Sandy, downed trees wereused  for firewood, mini hugel-type structures, stepping "stones", I am still using some tall stumps for planters.   They also made some great habitat for critters.  When I trim those boughs, I'm hiring my go-to guy to bring his chipper.
 
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