Is this caused by the woolly adelgid?

[anynameyouwish]

Hello,

I recently cut down a hemlock (around 12" dbh), split open a section of the base, and saw this white mold-like substance right in the middle of the heartwood. A few feet up the tree, the problem seemed to clear up.

I spotted white deposits on the undersides of some needles too, which definitely look like woolly adelgid activity (though unfortunately I didn't take picture of that). Are the white deposits in heartwood also caused by the adelgid? or is this some other fungus altogether? I'm in southern Vermont, USA.

Thank you all!

 

[Raintree]

Decay fungus in the heartwood.

 

[anynameyouwish]

Decay fungus in the heartwood.

Thanks.. it seemed to my untrained eye that there were no external signs of this fungus. Is there any way to tell from the outside, any external signs of internal decay one can look for? I was hoping that this was just the adelgid, because there are clear external signs of that.

 

[Raintree]

Most of these decay fungi will develop fruiting bodies close to the stump area in the spring or fall.

 

[anynameyouwish]

Most of these decay fungi will develop fruiting bodies close to the stump area in the spring or fall.

Good to know! I'll keep an eye out for these.

 

[fruitcakesa]

Thanks.. it seemed to my untrained eye that there were no external signs of this fungus. Is there any way to tell from the outside, any external signs of internal decay one can look for? I was hoping that this was just the adelgid, because there are clear external signs of that.

Don't hope for adelgid if you have hemlock stands. It can spread and cause damage to your forest. A single rotten tree is just nature at work.

 

[anynameyouwish]

Yeah I phrased that oddly. I am not hoping for adelgid at all! Just that in this particular tree it was puzzling to see the fungus without any external signs (that I could see). As it stands (ha ha), our hemlocks are starting to get infested and it's depressing. A few miles down the road there are some infestations in full swing. I hope this winter is bitter cold and kills off most of the adelgid population.