I have patches of this all over my pine, golf ball size or bigger, pinkish white, sometimes a bit oozy, no idea what it is or how to treat it. can anyone educate me? this is on Vancouver Island (Nanaimo)
@Sabrina Yeudall, good morning and welcome to the forum. Is this on the very lower level of your pine? It has the appearance of slime mold. I don't think it is Butt rot as this was my first thought when seeing the photo.
It is a larger pine shrub, and this particular patch is about three feet up. Most of the patches are on the lower sections, yes. How do I get rid of it?
@Sabrina Yeudall, if it is indeed slime mold, then scraping it off is the only way IMO. It is likely to return if the conditions suit. Arlette has just mentioned an insect gall. I'm not so sure that it is. I hope @Frog takes a look, there maybe another better opinion from that direction.
Thanks for the tag @Acerholic Hi @Sabrina Yeudall - So far it most resembles chunks of resin coated with a thin layer of resin-loving fungi. If it is resin leaking out in quantity I know that can be a sign of problems for the tree ... but that is an area of expertise of others in this forum. I don't think it is a slime mold, but that would be a possibility if you can put a finger right through it with no resistance (watery texture). Some details that could be useful to ID: Is it soft or hard? If you cut it in half, what does the interior look like? If it is dried resin, the interior will lack the pinkish/whitish surface bloom and be fairly contiguous in texture Does it have an underside? Most fungal growths that are large enough to be visible are reproductive structures, and many have an underside surface with structures that help with ID such as pores, gills or teeth. I hope that is helpful - let us know how it goes? frog