Wierd plastic-like film on beech

[Island Lescure]

Anyone know what this is? Having trouble uploading pics at the minute so will post the rest tomorrow. Big patches (20cms across) at base and lower (up to 1.5m) portion of stem. Looks almost like seaweed. Just curious as I doubt it actually affects the tree unless it is from past fruiting bodies?

 

Cheers

[Steve Bullman]

No but I have seen it before, not much use I know

[Paul Melarange]

Old fruiting bodies of the fungus Bulgaria inquinans?

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/tree-fungi-134.html

[daltontrees]

I have seen this many times and it is not associated with decay or dysfunction. I have decided that it is therefore nothing to worry about, but if I had to guess I'd say it was dead lichen. The resupinate ones are really quite tough, and if they died and contracted a bit I expect they would look like this. Probably signalling an increase in atmospheric pollution. But I'm just speculating.

[Island Lescure]

Dead lichen sounds very plausible. The site is in a woodland, though it is getting more and more exposed as trees come out (safety...) and not enough are replanted. There is also a road 20m above it.

 

Cheers!

[Island Lescure]

resized pics seem to work.

 

Apparently it was all around the tree, as in covering the lower stem when first discovered...

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

whats left of a slime mold probably consuming sloughed bark cells

[Island Lescure]

Cheers! I will have to keep an eye out from fresher specimens.