I think this is a fungus but I’m not sure. I have it on cherry, pear, and apple trees.
Have you seen it before and how did you get rid of it?
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That is just lichen, it is perfectly fine to leave it. Shady areas will get lichen on them.
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None of my fruit trees has any shade and several pear that I had to cut down were absolutely covered by it, so I assumed it was hurting the trees
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Nope, not a problem at all. Check the type, but you can actually eat some (most?) lichens. They don’t taste like much but if you are lost in the woods… Better than the alternative.
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Lichen looks nice and might even be beneficial. Nothing to worry about.
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lichen protects the trees from insects, temp. swings and many bad funguses. about 15 yrs ago i was friends with a professor from the university i worked at. his specialty was in lichens. told me its a sign of a healthy forest/ ecosystem. caribou/ reindeer survive off lichens in the arctic. its a good thing to have. i have the same types of them on all my older mountain ash here.
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Many of my trees have stems covered in lichen, I have never found that to be a problem. I have heard that lichen are sensitive to air pollution and therefore it is a good sign to have them on your trees.
The only time I am worried is when a whole young or youngish tree is covered in it. Not because of the lichen itself, but because it shows that the tree does not grow very fast. As long as the trees can outgrow the lichen all is well. If the tree grows so slowly, that the lichen covers all the thin wood, fruiting spurs etc, I get worried. My mother planted an apple tree in very rocky soil about 15 years ago. Because it is quite far away from the house it was only seldom fertilized. The combination of very poor soil and no manure, mulch etc. stunted this poor tree. It grew very slowly, as shown by all the wood covered in lichen. When I began taking over tree care from my mother, I gave it a good load of manure and have every year since. It has begun to grow and has now young wood and fruiting spurs not covered in lichen.
So, in my opinion, excessive lichen on a tree may be a symptom that the tree is unwell, but not the cause.
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The reason why lichen sometimes appears to be hurting a tree is that it grows very slowly. Therefore the only times it is able to heavily cover a tree is if the tree is growing very poorly. People see the unhealthy tree covered in lichen and then assume the tree is weak because of the lichen when actually the lichen is simply catching up to the trees new growth because the tree is already so weak for unrelated reasons.
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Your trees may not be in shade, but unless they’re dead, the branches and trunks have shade from their own leaves. That said, there are also many lichens which can grow with a lot of sun.
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Agree with Johann, here in many areas with rocky outcrops and especially in mountainous terrain, lichens of many colors similar to yours are a common occurrence.
Dennis
Kent, wa
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There are usually a sign of good air quality. They have no roots so they soak whatever is in the air. Polluted air kills them.
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Thanks for all the comments