Agree with gardengal, nothing left to tell you. If it was mine, I would probably get rid of it. Had an oak go into decline just like this.

Matt, it's important that we know your general location. In some parts of the country, these bracket fungi can be an indication of severe problems....in other locations, not so much. Many of them are truly parasitic, requiring living wood to feed on, not the dead heartwood.

I'll emphasize that you search for an ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) certified arborist in your search. Tree care professionals who have earned their certification are always going to advertise it. Insist on it. I'd get at least three different evaluations, if I were you.

Let us know, will you?

third pic.. i am concerned about the sunken area.. going up the tree from the shrooms ... that whole side of the tree might be dead ...

time for removal.. imo ... there is no fixing internal rot .....

lot of fire wood there ... if you have a fireplace ... perhaps a price negotiation point, if you dont ... doubt you will offset removal cost.. but you might get it knocked down a bit ...

ken

Ken has a point, if you go for removal (which is a wise choice) do not hire an arborist. There is no reason to hire an arborist just for tree removal, the chainsaw murderers will work just fine.

That's some pretty terrible advice, Logan. This is a large tree that hangs over the home. The tree company hired to do such a removal needs to be fully insured and licensed....a true arboricultural professional. I'm not sure that you understand what that means.

A clean take down can certainly be accomlished by someone without ISA certification, but I wouldn't want unskilled individuals removing a substantial tree in my yard.

While there is fungus on this tree, and assuming there is a healthy looking crown, there is no reason to remove this tree. Many trees with fungus growing on the trunk are hundreds of years old.

Please understand I am not saying ignore it, but keep an eye on it to see if the problem gets worse. The cost of removing a tree of that size today is not going to change significantly 20 years from now.

The tree will probably be there when you sell your home or die.

Yes, this tree could easily outlast us all, even though hollow or getting that way due to these heartrot organisms. So these fungi are not killing the tree but are just taking advantage of the situation. Or..........the whole works could come down in a wind tomorrow. But that's not likely. I would do as suggested above and monitor.

either!!!!

remove it .... with a highly insured professional remover ...

or you pay the dough.. to have an onsite inspection by a CERTIFIED arborist ... immediately.. which in tree time is within a year ...

yes. its oak ... could stand there for another 100 years ... its really hard tough wood ... not subject to fast anything ... namely rotting ...

your base issue here.. is probably peace of mind ... so you need info.. onsite.. from a pro ...

in google.. type in : ISA arborist.. then add city and state ...

ken

Thanks to all of you for your sage advice, this all very helpful information! I am going to have an ISA arborist come out as soon as possible, and will report back to you what they find. I certainly don't want to have it taken out if I don't have to. I am in Houston, Texas, which has a reputation for being hard on sick trees. I'll keep my fingers crossed though!

It would be very useful to post pictures of the crown to judge the overall health. Keep in mind that it is an oak with different clocks than ours. A hasty cut down will be impossible to fix and you will lose the decades of growth in few minutes. Do your research and watch for the overall health of the tree before making a decision. Review any "recent", according to its clock, actions which may have harmed the tree. Consulting a professional is a great idea. May be air spading the soil around the infected parts will reveal a problem.

Probably no need to remove the tree, seek advice from arborist to see what kind of bracket fungus it is..some trees actually can fight these infections. Note: the fungus is right at ground level and that can mean other things besides heartwood rot.

Shelf fungus info

best to get a pro certified arborist to look at it

Matt, as one here who said this tree could outlast us all, I am glad you are going to have it checked out. Shelf fungi of this type can indicate significant loss of trunk integrity and that should be factored into whatever you decide.

It looks like a Laurel oak, there are a lot of them around here that are completely hollowed out. As others have said, it could stand another decade, BUT, all it takes is a tropical system to hit the TX coast and it *could* come crashing down. Even when they're not rotten, the wood isn't very strong (by oak standards).

Personally, I'd get rid of it and plant something else in its place.

Looks like quercus phellos to me. +1 for removal, most likely internal rot.

Root rot..after inspection there are way to slow the decaying rate but finding a arborist that has knowledge on controlling root rot is limited do to cost.

First treatment you're look at around $8000.00 every year this tree would need treated to limit growth of decay.

faster you have this tree removed the lower it's going to cost. Right now you're looking at a skilled climber with rigging gear judging on your photos what 7 can make out of your yard layout you're looking at around $1200.00-1500.00 for removal

waiting you'll be looking at a climber an crane then you'll be handing out $2500.00-$3500.00

Not root rot, most likely internal rot as the shelf fungus is indicating. Either way, removal will most likely be the best option. You might be able to find someone who would "top" it for free (firewood) then have tree removers come and take the rest of it out for maybe 1/2 the cost. I doubt stump grinding would be necessary, the shelf fungus should take care of it.

1st photo..lower left between roots the fruiting fungus we see is a bracket fungus. The next fruiting fungus we see in photos 1 to the far right an in photo 2 are shelf fungus. In photo 3 base of tree we can see a well shaped bracket fungus looking up the stem we can see shelf fungus fruiting.

The main thing all the white we're seeing is Mycelium common signs of Armillaria root rot when the weather is right this will fruit a mushroom that we're not seeing yet

I had an ISA Certified Arborist come out. His opinion was that the fungi is Ganoderma Lucidum, which only exists on dead wood. He believes that about 1/3 of the trunk is lost, and recommended that I cut it down. I have a second opinion coming on Wednesday from another arborist, but I believe this tree is done for. It's a willow oak, which according to him has only got about a 50yr average lifespan. We believe that the tree was planted around the time of the founding of the neighborhood (~1973), so that puts it at approaching that point.

When it comes to ISA certification you have to ask what it's for. Isa has a standard arborist training but they offer single training for different things when it comes to tree work. I find a lot of tree companies say they're isa certified to boost how much they can charge but only have a climbing certification most the time it will be the owner that holds the certification working a crew with none. Be sure to ask isa has a website with everyone's name on it who is certified an who's not

Interesting Bulldog, I did not realize there were different ISA certifications. Makes sense!

ISA Cert.

If you would look into ISA you'd see for yourself!

Isa certifications

ISA CERTIFED ARBORIST

ISA CERTIFED UTILITY SPECIALIST

ISA CERTIFED MUNICIPAL SPECIALIST

ISA CERTIFED TREE WORKER CLIMBER SPECIALIST

ISA CERTIFED TREE WORKER AERIAL LIFT SPECIALIST

ISA CERTIFED BOARD CERTIFIED MASTER ARBORIST

Any of these certification can say they're certifed arborist a lot of times the owner of the company will be certified with a uncertifed crew.

ISA certified arborist is what you are looking for. If they claim to be otherwise it counts as false advertising, which is illegal. I understand that you may do removal and "treatment" of large trees, but I don't know about the "pro" status. I dropped my "pro" status months ago, even though I own a nursery.

To get certified by isa is 3 days for most things. Like climbing you get two days hands on then one day written test. To become a certified arborist you study from one book explaining the basics then given a test based off that book.

I know when i was in school i aced a lot of test but if i was asked what it meant heck if i knew i just remembered the answers. So when it comes to great arborist just depends how far they push their knowledge on the subject

Of course one gains skills and qualifications from other than professional certifications! But what these things tend to show the prospective customer is that this person or company is dedicated to keeping up with his or her industry, one which, BTW, is rapidly changing. And even for those firms where maybe it is just the owner or head guy that has this, that's still better than nobody bothering. I first got certified in 1988. If I had to take the test in its current form, but using the knowledge needed to pass that 1988 version, I'd likely not pass. Things change, new knowledge is uncovered! Curious minds want to know!

Today we're getting more high tech limits lot of the guess work

I don't know what that means.^

So, this is my area of expertise. My lab has a project looking at Ganoderma in the eastern US (taxonomy, decay rates, pathogenicity etc.). Here are a few comments:

1. The fungus in question is not Ganoderma lucidum, as that species doesn't actually occur in the US (though many people don't realize that). It is most likely G. sessile.

2. This fungus causes decay and to a certain extent, death of roots and cambial tissue. hence, it is considered a Root and butt rot pathogen.

3. It is opportunistic and takes advantage of stressed trees. Its presence should be considered a factor in hazard rating and should be inspected by an ISA certified arborist. Removal may be warranted as it is very likely to have a compromised root system/stem.

4. There is no effective treatment for these fungi. No matter what snake oil salesmen may say, there isn't. It's all about prevention and management of the hazard.

hope this helps!

salicaceae

I realize this thread is five years old but hope it might pop back up on top. I have a similar situation with a 30 year old oak, but no one has mentioned how to stop it from infecting other trees. When i purchased this property 3 years ago, there was a maple that had obvious signs of illness: bracket fungus, mushrooms, exposed rotting wood. We had it removed earlier this year. Just months later, bracket fungus developed on the oak that was its neighbor 20 feet away. This tree had large mushrooms at its base in our first year here. This oak isn’t looking very healthy and i understand that it is already lost, just a matter if time. However… I have two more 30 year old oaks and 3 maples that I would like to protect from infestation. I am not interested in fighting nature, but if there is a preventative, I would like to give it a try. I thought the maple had been infected because there was heavy cover on its roots from nearby cedar, keeping the area wet. With the maple gone, and the cedars, it stays quite sunny, so i thought it would improve the fungus issues. I live in the Huntsville, AL area. No need to reiterate the need for certidied arborist. This theead has been quite educational on that point. I would appreciate input on what if anything can be done to prevent spread. Thank you.