Are you sure it's a fungus? Looks to me like some kind of insect pupae. Have you tried splitting one open for a look?

That was my next guess...;>O

Cedar elm expresses this characteristic also.

one of the hardest things to learn when i started in trees ... was bark maturation ...

my first default was usually a 'problem' ... it rarely ended up as such ...

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=Ulmus+alata+bark+maturation&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiRx5uwg-rSAhWP14MKHZ2QDKwQ_AUIBigB&biw=975&bih=743

Brilliant and sooo fascinating guys - thanks!!! Wow, I never would have guessed it was just normal bark growth! That is bizarre as h*ll! :o

"Brilliant and sooo fascinating guys - thanks!!! Wow, I never would have guessed it was just normal bark growth! That is bizarre as h*ll! :o"

Euonymus alatus (often called winged spindle tree) also exhibits this trait on small branches.

I needed a laugh this morning, and would like to thank the participants of this thread.

(I don't mean that in a cruel way, we were all there once. I remember, as an 11 year old, asking the elderly couple I gardened for if something was wrong with their winged euonymous, when I first saw it)

Hmm, I think this might actually be a [Cedar Elm[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/north-texas-trees-dsvw-vd~4649097) now, since it also has corky wings on its young saplings...

And what is the design function for these weird flanges, btw???

And what is the design function for these weird flanges, btw???

==>>> well... apparently.. to confuse us all .... when we are young in our experience/learning curve curve ... who said ma nature doesnt have a sense of humor .. lol

ken

I think 'fungal flanges' is a wonderful expression, even if inaccurate. Fungal flanges, fungal flanges. It just makes me smile.