Normal growth or pathogen?

[Colorado Josh]

I collected this RMJ last summer. At the time I didn't notice this odd growth pattern. I looked it up in my forestry pathogen book but didn't find anything that looked like it. Is this a normal for rmj?

 

[TimberLakers]

Are you referring to the juvenile foliage?

 

[Shibui]

I agree. Juvenile foliage. Many scale juniers do this after trauma (like being dug and transplanted) or after pruning. It will gradually change back to adult scale growth.

 

[Colorado Josh]

Yes. It is juvenile foliage. But it seems as though it's coming out of a growth, like a knot. I have never seen mistletoe, but it seems wolfy like that. I don't think it's a rust either. The deadwood on the tree seems as though it had this growth pattern on it at some time in the past. There are a lot of collectible trees in this area with the same feature. It makes for some really neat deadwood.

 

[bwaynef]

I have never seen mistletoe, but it seems wolfy like that.

I've got a trident maple w/ mistletoe in it. It looks nothing like what I see in this picture. I don't have a ton of experience w/ RMJ, but this looks like juvenile foliage on a tree that's experienced a bit of stress.

 

[PiñonJ]

I have never seen mistletoe, but it seems wolfy like that.

It’s juvenile foliage, not mistletoe.

I've got a trident maple w/ mistletoe in it. It looks nothing like what I see in this picture.

I agree, it’s not mistletoe, but mistletoe on a juniper looks nothing like mistletoe on a deciduous tree (they’re different species of mistletoe).

 

[wireme]

I collected this RMJ last summer. At the time I didn't notice this odd growth pattern. I looked it up in my forestry pathogen book but didn't find anything that looked like it. Is this a normal for rmj?

Perfectly normal.

 

[penumbra]

If you think its diseased and want to get rid of it, I will take it off your hands.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

That knot of wood where the juvenile growth is coming out of, is normal for an old tree. I forget the correct term, but the knot is a "growth center" where a lot of buds have developed under the bark. Nothing to worry about.

 

[ShadyStump]

I'm with that guy
I've seen it many times, some on old trees, some on young. Some stressor or damage forces the tree to pop allot of buds from the same place over time, but they die back or are damaged, then repeat the cycle over years. It turns into this bulbous, often pokey type growth like you see in the pic. I find it more common on older trees, but I have come across saplings that sprouted in a trail or the like that grow that as a trunk because they're constantly being trampled.

 

[PA_Penjing]

Yeah, that knot is the bane of my existence when trying to style those things. It's kind of like those basal shoots that pop out of pitch pines