Tree Soap
I found a large mound of foam at the base of my cherry tree, the trunk is covered in moss at the bottom and my immediate thought was hedgehog spittle. But I was wrong.
Never having seen this before I did a search online and found this article. It’s fascinating.
Bubbles piling up at the base of trees, especially after heavy rains, is somewhat commonplace. During dry periods, there is an accumulation of salts, plant chemicals and other particulates from the air that coat the bark surface. Soap is essentially a collection of salts and acids.
Think of it like you have all ingredients ready and waiting for making a crude, albeit very simple ‘au natural’ soap solution. Everything is ready and waiting for the final ingredient—rainwater.
As rainwater trickles down the tree stem or trunk (called stemflow), it collects deposited dust particles (i.e. salts) and plant residues (i.e. acids) that have accumulated on the bark surfaces. Bubbles are formed through the process of “stemflow mixing”. As this dissolved, simple soap solution flows down the trunk, it encounters barriers and bumps, like bark plates, furrows, and ridges. The solution is then tumbled, mixed and aerified, during its downward flow to the ground, generating the bubbles or soapsuds, which collect at the tree base.
Occasionally, a light coating of foam may even be visible higher up on the tree trunk. Stemflow mixing has no known deleterious effect on tree health.
Tree suds can happen in all types of trees and has been observed occurring in all continents where trees grow.
There is absolutely no need for worry, if foam forms on your trees during or after heavy rains. In fact, it is an awesome natural phenomenon, so just sit back, relax, enjoy the rain and the bubbles!
Image source: M.Anthonisen