Unusual bark colour and plating?

[Bundle 2]

Any one care to speculate as to the cause of this?

(Bark discolored, yellow and cracking in mosaic or grid...I see the canker but think it unrelated..)

Tim

[Matthew Arnold]

Its looks almost like an Ash x London Plane. Very strange but no idea wot is causing it.

[Al Duffill]

Looks like some kind of lichen or algae, is it an Ash tree that its on?

[Bundle 2]

Lichens present in addition to the canker yes...The bark looks to be still reasonable thin (immature & smooth, typical of ash-again, yes, ash!) but with the appearance that it is dessicated....breaking into a mosaic of yellow discoloration...Not seen similar before. Site is north facing, some 400m from sea..

[nepia]

A mineral deficiency/imbalance? The soil is presumably acid and poor (bracken) so trace elements could be locked up.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

lol

 

snails been busy eating algea!

[Bundle 2]

A mineral deficiency/imbalance? The soil is presumably acid and poor (bracken) so trace elements could be locked up.

 

This is seen in the leaves for sure ( wait, there aren;t any!-) Bark however, whilst it does still contain some chlrophyll ( esp noticeable on young ash -giving the young bark a smooth, greenish appearance) ... we should consider the cells dead. That is what bark does. Then it is sloughed off....right? mt point being, why should we see any indication in the barks condition that relates to an ongoing deficiency?

I dont know! Perhaps because the tree needs to "flush out" build ups of unusually high levels of one particular element perhaps, and as the leaves are not present, it uses the bark? Pure speculation on my part I assure you!

It is not present higher up the stem however...Vascular?

I need to look in my"Plant Nutrient Disorders (5)"-Ornamental Plants & Shrubs: by G.C.Cresswell & R.G.Weir.

Keep the suggestions coming...Thanks for looking !

[RobArb]

got any close up pics?

[Bundle 2]

got any close up pics?

 

Sorry..no.

Also, I think my speculations above to be in the realm of fantasy....Leaves, in the run up to abscission, are essentially sinks for the tree's waste products....Abscission uses a great deal of energy from the tree in relative terms....( remember a thread started a while back by Marcus about this and other related "equilibrium" aspects to lifecycles ? Dony know what happened to it..fizzled out!)

Nevermind, it lead to my acquiring a small text re:dormancy in plants...hugely interesting. Thanks whoever posted that link!)

The thing is, I can find no reference to toxic/mineral deficiencies that are identifiable in bark features.....Oh the joys of ignorance!

What we can say maybe is that, if the only tree in a group, all subject to the same criteria/conditions, is this one...wouldn't that switch the flick in your brain to say..how come just one?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

IT IS SNAILS!

 

crikey, you boys do like to over analyse!