Skip to Left navigation Skip to Main content Skip to Footer

University of Minnesota Extension
www.extension.umn.edu
612-624-1222

Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Deciduous > Basswood/Linden > Fungi growing on trunk or branches

Print Icon Email Icon Share Icon

Basswood/Linden > Trunk/Branches > Fungi on trunk or branches

1 of 3
  • Image: Ganoderma root and butt rot 1
  • Image: Ganoderma root and butt rot 2
  • Image: Ganoderma root and butt rot 3

Ganoderma root and butt rot
Ganoderma spp.

  • Leaves are smaller in size and turn yellow earlier than normal
  • Canopy appears thin with few leaves and multiple dead branches
  • Fungal conks, a semicircle shelf fungi, can be found from the base of the tree up to 3 feet high on the trunk
  • Conks are reddish brown and shiny on top, white and porous underneath, a rim of white may be visible on the edge of growing conks
  • Infected wood at the base of the tree is white, soft, stringy or spongy
  • Infected trees frequently break or fall over in storms
  • More information on Ganoderma root and butt rot
2 of 3
  • Image: Heart rot 1
  • Image: Heart rot 2
  • Image: Heart rot 3

Heart rot
Trametes versicolor, Climacodon septentrionalis,
Polyporus squamosus and others

  • Fungal fruiting bodies arise along the stem; often near a pruning wound, crack or other wound
  • Many colors, shapes and sizes of fungal fruiting bodies may be seen
  • The canopy may show no symptoms or may have small yellowing leaves or dead branches depending on the extent of the trunk decay
  • In cross section of the trunk, the wood at the center is discolored, soft, crumbling, stringy or spongy
  • More information on heart rot
3 of 3
  • Image: Sapwood rot 1
  • Image: Sapwood rot 2
  • Image: Sapwood rot 3

Sapwood rot
Schizophyllum commune and Cerrena unicolor

  • Schizophyllum shelf fungi are white and appear fuzzy on top
  • Cerrena shelf fungi are white to greenish grey and have concentric rings on the surface
  • Dead branches within the canopy
  • Groups or rows of small (<2 inches wide) semi-circle self fungi along killed branches or on the main trunk
  • Common on trees with an open wound or crack
  • Wood below fungal shelves is yellowish to white, crumbly and decayed; bark around fungal shelves is killed and often falls off

Don't see what you're looking for?