Trunk on one of my pygmy robellini palms seems to be peeling. One photo shows the trunk peeling. The other photo shows white specks in trunk. The fronds are healthy and green. They are abut 12 years old. The place where I order the palm tree spikes suggested I hire a palm arborist. What do you think? I appreciate any help you can give me. Thank you.
I can speak to the white specks--they look like little mushrooms, so your palm is hosting some sort of fungus. Mushrooms are often like icebergs; what you see above ground (or above the trunk in this case) probably represents something much larger that has interweaved into the trunk. Not too much I can find online about these particular ones, though I will say at the least that what you describe doesn't appear to be associated with the fatal Ganoderma. An arborist will give you some certainty, if no one else pipes up.
Should be OK, it is just the old fibrous dead leaf bases rotting and falling off; the actual trunk inside is unaffected. Quite normal with palms.
The wee white mushrooms are likely to be Mycena or Marasmiellus (or similar) mushrooms, which specialize in consuming leaf litter, old vegetation. Given the above comment from Michael F, it sounds like this will not be an issue for your palm. However, please note that I'm making a tentative ID from a far away photo of a mushroom: For a real ID, some good close-ups might work, or contact your local mycology society and ask if there is a mycologist in your area who would be willing to look at your specimen. The Gulf States Mycological Society, Gulf States Mycological Society Home cheers, frog
