Orange Slime on the Muscadine

 

This has been a better than usual year for spotting bright orange slime on native muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) vines. Almost every large vine on our property has it compared to just one that had it a couple years ago. This is Fusicolla merismoides, a fungus or, more often, a complex of fungi and yeast that colonize the sap that leaks from a tree wound.

It doesn’t hurt the vine (or tree if it is on some other woody plant) and usually is just a springtime occurrence as sap is rising and leaking from wounds on woody plants. Obviously the bigger the wound or amount of sap, the more orange you might see.

So if you see an orange smear, take a moment to appreciate what’s happening and then go happily on your way. I visited all of ours this year with grandson in tow and we admired them and remarked on the small bugs enjoying the slime.

The slime on the upper right is fading while the left is gooey