Question
QUESTION: Hi Jim
I live in Okatie South Carolina, about 8 miles from the Georgia border...about 20 miles from the ocean.

There is a round, white, soft sphere about the size of a golf ball attached to the tip of a branch on an oak tree in the woods in the back of my house.  The sphere is solid white, but has something(?) visible through the soft outside.  The slightly darker images inside are small.  There are just a few visible.

I can't reach the sphere, but the white material appears to be soft, like closely knit spider webbing. I'm wondering if it is an egg case or some sort of fungus.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

ANSWER: This is one of the decay fungi fruiting bodies Hericium erinaceus
The common name is Lion Mane, other names are Bearded Tooth Mushroom, Hedgehog Mushroom, Bearded Hedgehog Mushroom, pom pom mushroom, or Bearded Tooth Fungus.

The decay fungi enter wounds of trees and slowly decay the woody part of the tree making it hollow. This will take many years depending on the species and health and age of the tree.
It typically appears on the wounds of living or very recently cut hardwoods, and fruiting from the wounds of living hardwoods.
The fungi itself is growing in the wood of the tree and this is the fruiting body (flower) that will produce spores that may be carried to other wounds or dead wood. You can break this friuting body off or it will dry up over time. Some say these are edible but I am not into eating wild mushrooms.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wow!  Thanks for your quick answer but I wonder if that is what it is.  It is located on the tip of a very small young branch, not one that has been wounded in any way.  The branch is only about 6 inches long and is very slim....maybe 1/4 inch.  It does not look like anything that is edible.  It appears that it could be squashed into almost nothing.....like what would happen if had a golf ball sized wad of spider web.  Could it perhaps be the beginning of the fungi?  The Lion Mane picture I saw on the web looks NOTHING like this thing. Sure wish I knew how to send a pic.

Answer
I am sorry I mis read the question--now I se the part about being on the end of the branch.
Sounds like an  inset galls. The insect will lay its eggs on the branch and secretes a chemical that will cause the cells of the twig to swell and cover the eggs. These cause little damage to the tree. You can attach a photo to the bottom of the question and I maybe able to tell what insect gall you have.