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