Buckeye Trees Affected by Sudden Oak Death
A tree disease known as sudden oak death has found a new victim.
The fungus called phytophthora has killed tens of thousands of coastal oak trees from Sonoma to Big Sur. Now, the microbe is invading California’s buckeye trees, bringing to 10 the number of tree and plant species being attacked.
The buckeye, or Aesculus californica, is found mostly in dry, sunny areas throughout the state.
Matteo Garbelotto, a forest pathologist at UC Berkeley, believes infected species such as buckeye serve as launching points for phytophthora spores to spread to oak trees.
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