Yellow Growth

We were driving the Gator up the skid road into the forest and saw a yellow clump at the bottom on a large Douglas Fir tree.  It was as big around as a baseball. The clump had not been there twelve hours earlier when we were traveling the road.

This fungus appeared and blossomed overnight into a wet, gloppy ooze. I touched it and the surface clung to my finger like whip cream, it smelled like a mushroom. The spot where I touched it immediately turned from bright yellow to a burnt orange color.

The next day, the growth was not the bright yellow color anymore and did not look as wet, yet when touched it still clung to my finger like the day before. The top coating that came off showed black underneath where the day before showed burnt orange.

I have not seen this particular kind of growth before so will be monitoring the spot to see how long it hangs around and if it is a precursor signaling an issue with the ninety year old tree. Up until this time, the Doug Fir has looked happy and healthy even though we did disturb the ground around the upper hillside of the tree to put in the road last year.