Green Fungus on Trees

Sulphur top (Naematoloma fasciculare)

• Sulphur top fungus rows on logs and stumps in clusters in Florida and on the west coast of the United States and Canada. It has a traditional mushroom shape with a cap and stem. The cap is a yellowish-green, sometimes with an brown or orange middle. The stem is white near the top, turning brown towards the ground with hair rings. Its gills are a green-yellow color. The sulphur top mushroom grows 2 to 5 inches tall and 1/2 to 3 inches wide.

Indian paint fungus (Echinodontium tinctorium)

• The Indian paint fungus is a member of the teeth fungi family (Hydnaceae). It hangs on living conifer trees on the west coast of the United States and Canada. The fungus is shaped like a 1 1/2- to 8-inch wide hoof and is green to black in color with a wood-like appearance. The inside of the fungus is comprised of orange teeth-like gills that the Pacific Northwest Native Americans used to make an orange dye. Indian paint fungus causes tree heart rot.

Black knot fungus (Apiosporina morbosa)

• The black knot fungus spreads throughout the United States and Canada. It is olive-green to black in color and looks like a lumpy mass in between the tree's branches. The fungus is hard to the touch and sometimes club-shaped or tapered. It is found on the branches of cherry and plum trees where it grows 1 to 12 inches in length.

Blue-green fungus (Chlorosplenium aeruginosum)

• Blue-green fungus grows throughout the United States and Canada. The fungus is a 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch wide thin cup that is a blue-green color with a short stem. The fungus grows in clusters on the trunks and branches of conifer trees.