QuestionWe noticed that this tree in my yard died last Summer. Right in the mid of summer all the leaves fell off. This Maple tree was about 15 years old. So today we cut it down, needless to say it didnt have any leaves on it this year as we were hoping. When we cut it down we noticed a red color almost like dye all the way up in all the branchs and trunk... just everywhere inside. It also had a very, very fowl odor. Kinda like rotten salmon eggs. Can you please tell me what in the world caused the smell and the red color in the tree. The red was inside all the branches and inside the trunk. The red color wasnt on the outside bark. Please help!
AnswerThere are several fungi that could cause the wood to turn a reddish color but since there was a smell associated I would guess it was a disieased called slime flux. It is a bacterial disease that will buildup in the wood and when it gets enough presure will actually flow out of the bark. It has a foul odor. Trees affected by slime flux often develop verticillium wilt which is more than likely what killed your tree. The slime flux itself will not cause mortality to a tree. The good thing it is not infectiuos and will not spread to other trees. It is usually caused by some type of wound to the tree, allowing the bacteria to enter.
