Brazilian Rain Tree Goo

Hello All~

I was working with my BRT this morning and noticed this gel like substance on the branches. I peeled all of it off and it brought small peices of bark with it.
The "Gel" actually looks like some sort of egg (second picture)

Has anyone seen this before and if so what is it and how do you get rid of it??

Thanks in advance

I've never worked with a BRT, but on other kinds of trees I'd say that that is sap that has leaked from a wound. Things like that are very common on Prunus species (for example) that have been hit by borers (or woodpeckers, like sapsuckers).

Is there any evidence (before bark peeled off from under these) of wounds in the bark caused by human, insect, or disease? Of course, the fact that bark came off with this jelly-like stuff may BE the evidence.

JimLewis wrote:I've never worked with a BRT, but on other kinds of trees I'd say that that is sap that has leaked from a wound. Things like that are very common on Prunus species (for example) that have been hit by borers (or woodpeckers, like sapsuckers).

Is there any evidence (before bark peeled off from under these) of wounds in the bark caused by human, insect, or disease? Of course, the fact that bark came off with this jelly-like stuff may BE the evidence.

Thanks for the response Jim

I have seen sap from my Pinus do something similar, but never in a cluster like these have appeared.

The bark that came off actually was very wet. I have seen no evidence of any wounding by any of the mentioned causes. It was like it was fine on day and the next----------this stuff

Received from another forum:

Hi Gandalf, this is jelly fungus, commonly known as, 'witches butter'. It is a non-parasitic hitchhiker on the tree, just along for the ride. It is usually seen in areas of high rainfall (rainforest) and is common here in SW Oregon. Most jelly fungus are edible (but not incredible), most lacking any flavor, used in soups by hardcore fungiphiles. I'll pass, thanks.

Good news. Never heard of the stuff. But here's a picture -- a bit down the page -- of yours:

http://www.google.com/search?q=witches+butter&oe=utf-8&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=922&bih=508

There appear to be many different kinds. Some I have seen, but didn't know the name.

Nice to learn something new. More here: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/tremella_mesenterica.html