Fungus on trunk of Palm

[Kevin T]

Just moved to FL and the palms in my yard have this weird fungus on the lower trunk,  any ideas/ comments are appreciated.  Should I remove it ?  How ?

Thanks, 

Kevin

[KFain]

That is Lichen and will not harm the palm and should be left on the palm. 

[Merlyn]

Yep, it looks like a common lichen.  They like to grow on the North side of palms and trees, or ones in significant amounts of shade and available moisture.  Generally they are harmless, I'd leave them alone. 

The one thing I'd do is check to make sure that your sprinklers aren't hitting the palm trunks.  Water sprays can damage the trunks and cause rot, which can eventually kill a palm.  A sign of that on the surface is darker splotchy areas and/or moss growth.  It's worth checking just to make sure.

[kinzyjr]

@Kevin T Welcome to PalmTalk!  I have some of that on the north side of my Veitchia subdisticha.  It should be fine by itself, unless the tissue under it is dead or rotted.