Country diary: Something's eating away at this sycamore tree

Houndkirk Moor, South Yorkshire: Sooty bark disease has been afflicting many more trees this summer, but that's not the culprit with this saplingThe sycamore cut down on Hadrian's Wall was back in the news. A man had appeared in court in connection with its felling, and this after regular stories on the subject, new shoots growing from its stump, artworks made in commemoration and a seedling, propagated from the tree's remains, presented to King Charles. Standing on the verge of the busy road under Houndkirk Moor, I reflected that some sycamores are more equal than others.No one, I assumed, had noticed the distressed youngster in front of me, about 10 years old, no more than a sapling. I was only paying it attention because a friend had mentioned seeing many more sycamores this summer with clumps of withered leaves in their crowns. And once I started looking, I saw them too. One culprit that sprang to mind was sooty bark disease, a fungus that arrived from North America in the mid-1940s. I have a rough idea of the symptoms, so when I spotted this example with a branch of prematurely bronzed leaves, I crossed the road to make a diagnosis. Continue reading...