Red oak? Weirdness on oak tree bark... what's up?

Question

I noticed while hiking that some oak trees have a reddish spore-looking dusty kinda stuff all over em... The amount varies from tree to tree but I'm wondering if this is some kind of infection/infestation/blight/fungus or maybe an indication that the tree is a "red oak" (I was always under the impression that the leaves were the big tell-tale). So yeah, I'm curious... what's goin on here?

Answer 1

This spore like dust may be the result of oak wilt.   Oak wilt is an aggressive disease that affects many species of oak (Quercus spp.). It is one of the most serious tree diseases in the eastern United States, killing thousands of oaks each year in forests, woodlots, and home landscapes. Spore mats can form only within a year after tree death, and only when air temperature and wood moisture are within a certain range. In the northern United States this combination of wood moisture and temperature commonly occurs in spring of the year after the tree dies, or sometimes in autumn of the year the tree dies. The period of time during which mats are formed increases with decreasing latitude. In Texas, mat formation occurs at any time during the year, but is most common in late fall and winter when the weather is cooler and wetter.

Spore mats usually do not form on trees smaller than 6 inches in diameter at breast height, although smaller trees can occasionally support mats. In Texas, spore mats are formed only on Texas red oak and blackjack oak, and never on Texas live oak. For this reason, the red oaks are important for establishing new infection centers in Texas.

Another group of insects, oak bark beetles (not pictured), can also carry spores of the oak wilt pathogen and help to create new infection centers. These beetles acquire spores of the fungus while feeding on infected branches, and subsequently transmit them when feeding on healthy trees.

This may or may not answer your question. Hope it helps.