I was out looking at my trees this morning and noticed this unusual black spot , any idea what it might be?



     

That black part looks very dead.  Something killed the bud and is now spreading.  The bud doesn't look like it broke dormancy so it probably happened during winter storage.

The part of the tree above is now being sustained/supported by only part of the trunk so it weak and will likely break by the wind or other. 

I would cut off the dead part at least 1/2" below any black part to healthy cambium all around.
The part above the black should be OK to use as a cutting. 
I wouldn't try to air layer the part above since the black part could continue to spread.

Looks dead. Scratch the bark and see if there is something green underneath. If not, do as Pino said.

I scraped the trunk and it is all dead underneath the black goes approximately 3/4 around the diameter of the trunk I had 4 nice branches up top so I just finished air layering them  , the tree was getting too tall anyway it was the first one to blow over in a moderate wind Once the air layers take I will cut away the black thanks for your help Dave 

 

Hi,
Do you have a barbecue ? Did you push it against that tree ?
The dark color looks like burnt from a hot surface .
The tree could survive like that, but to be safe I would as well cut the tree underneath that black stain .

The wound is approximately 6 feet off the ground