Zolton
ArboristSite Lurker
Can someone tell me what these marks or patterns on my maple tree are all about?
Maple tree bark issue?
- Thread starter Zolton
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Most likely some type of lichen.
Zolton
ArboristSite Lurker
No cause for alarm then?
The tree was exposed to considerable stress due to weight on the root area earlier this season.
The tree was exposed to considerable stress due to weight on the root area earlier this season.
That looks to me like little spots where the lichens have been killed, whether by friction of some sort, toxic exposure (unlikely), or a pathogen to the lichens itself.
Now this is pure speculation on my part, but when you zoom in real close, the light spots are always on the margins of a healthy stand of moss/algae/lichens. The lighter colored areas (where circular) have a darker center, and the overall pattern looks like your lichens have caught a fatal disease that is slowly spreading across the tree.
I don't think you need be concerned at all. If you are really interested in a solution, I think you would need to contact a university that has a department that specializes in Lichenology, or some related graduate level studies in plant pathology. I tried to find some research on viruses , fungi, or bacteria that are pathogenic to lichens, but that's a very deep hole to take a swim in, and I don't have enough expertise to find stuff that technical.
As far as that goes, we don't even know if the green growth on your tree is moss, lichens, or algae. A really good closeup picture might get us closer, but I think I've seen several different flavors of green "stuff" growing there, and this isn't exactly the area of our expertise.
I tried making sense of this article, but quite frankly, this article about pathogens in lichens is completely beyond my working vocabulary. See for yourself:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.561344/full
Needless to say, it didn't have any matching pictures, either.
Now this is pure speculation on my part, but when you zoom in real close, the light spots are always on the margins of a healthy stand of moss/algae/lichens. The lighter colored areas (where circular) have a darker center, and the overall pattern looks like your lichens have caught a fatal disease that is slowly spreading across the tree.
I don't think you need be concerned at all. If you are really interested in a solution, I think you would need to contact a university that has a department that specializes in Lichenology, or some related graduate level studies in plant pathology. I tried to find some research on viruses , fungi, or bacteria that are pathogenic to lichens, but that's a very deep hole to take a swim in, and I don't have enough expertise to find stuff that technical.
As far as that goes, we don't even know if the green growth on your tree is moss, lichens, or algae. A really good closeup picture might get us closer, but I think I've seen several different flavors of green "stuff" growing there, and this isn't exactly the area of our expertise.
I tried making sense of this article, but quite frankly, this article about pathogens in lichens is completely beyond my working vocabulary. See for yourself:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.561344/full
Needless to say, it didn't have any matching pictures, either.
