Tree Fungus

[beetle]

I live in northeast Ohio and all my trees have developed a Funges on the lower portions of the trunks. It started several years ago on my maples and has slowly grown in size and has passed on to all my other trees, this fungus is a bluish green. Can anyone help me to identify this? Thanks for any help.

[SwampDonkey]

Beetle42

Sounds like a Epiphytic lichen to me. Is it growing on red maple by chance? Its quite common on red maple and black ash in swamps up this way and is a symbiotic relationship between blue-green algae and fungus.

Here is a paper from U of T on air quality monitoring and Epiphytic lichen.

http://www.utoronto.ca/envstudy/cew/resources/lichenprotocol.pdf

or

http://www.utoronto.ca/envstudy/cew/resources/airQuality.htm

for ID's and there are many not listed because I see green leafy ones alot on maple and black ash in swamps and tree nurseries.

[beetle]

Thanks SwampDonkey,

From the one picture on the site you recommended it appears that is what it is. It started on my silver and sugar Maples and it is now growing on my Oaks, Apples, Dogwoods, etc. Should I be concerned? will it affect the health of my trees? and if so how do I treat it?

Thanks again,
Jeff

[SwampDonkey]

I'm not speaking as an authority on lichens, but it's my guess that air pollution would be more harmfull than lichens. They seem to be environmental indicators. I'm not aware of lichens causing decay or health problems when studying forest diseases. They don't seem to bother tree seedlings in the nursery, but they sure make a mess as they attach themselves to the silicate nurseries use to control damping off fungus and mosses in multipots. Its my understanding that lichens gather nutrients from the air, not wood or bark which is just a substrate for achorage.