Sooty moulds are common in New Zealand’s beech forests and mānuka scrublands. They are various species of fungi that grow on the sugary wastes (honeydew) excreted by scale insects. Sooty moulds form thick black coatings on the trunks, branches and leaves of infested trees. This thick sooty mould is growing on honeydew that has dripped onto rocks under a heavily infested beech tree.
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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Jock Phillips
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