Fungus has taken over the entire indoor palm tree when it was left outside during the summer. Can someone help me diagnose the problem? My mom is thinking about trashing it. How can I save it?
Sooty mold caused by the excreta of aphids or other sap sucking insects. They are essentially harmless and will weather off in time. Make sure you didn't pick up any other nasties from the outdoor vacation. Especially Spider mites which are almost microscopic and generally congregate on the bottoms of the leaves of palms. Fine webbing is usually (not always) a clue to the infestation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sooty_mold Try this, under the treatment section. It will be labour intensive but will help to save your palm. Sooty mold looks awful but it's not the end of the world.
