Eutypella canker
- French disease name: Chancre eutypelléen
- Pathogen name: Eutypella parasitica R.W. Davidson & R.C. Lorenz
- Kingdom: Fungi
- Phylum: Ascomycota
- Class: Sordariomycetes
- Order: Xylariales
- Family: Diatrypaceae
Distribution
Eastern Canada
Damage, symptoms and biology
The disease kills only small trees. A perennial canker forms on larger trees, but does not kill them. On these trees, the disease is characterized by an area of dead bark surrounded by a ridge of callus tissue. The fruiting bodies of the fungus develop three to five years after the initial infection on the dead bark remaining on the trunk. Cankers provide a point of entry for decay fungi, making the tree more vulnerable to stem breakage and wind throw.
Other information
A dead branch stub can often be seen in the middle of the canker. Most cankers form less than 4 meters above the ground.
Canadian Forest Service Publications
Information on host(s)
Main host(s)
Photos
Canker on a branch
André Carpentier
Canker surrounded by a callous swelling
André Carpentier
Old canker surrounded by a callous swelling
Denis Lachance
Main stem canker
André Carpentier
Eutypella canker on sugar maple, caused by Eutypella parasitica.
Young Eutypella canker on maple, showing stem deformation. Note the black fruiting area of the causal fungus, Eutypella parasitica.