Beech leaf disease
Beech leaf disease is a newly discovered lethal disease of beech trees. The symptoms of the disease appear as a dark green, interveinal banding pattern on the lower canopy foliage, eventually spreading throughout the tree. The symptoms appear to progress through the buds and no new leaves are produced. This eventually results in the death of the tree. The disease has the potential to drastically alter the Eastern deciduous forests of the United States on its own and through potential compounding disease effects. Since its discovery in Lake County, Ohio in 2012, it has rapidly spread to other counties in Ohio, as well as to Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, Canada.
The disease affects the native American beech as well as the commonly planted European beech. The estimated economic and environmental cost of the loss of the Beech in Ohio alone is $225 million. The disease has no known cure and will likely spread throughout the natural range of the American beech, killing countless millions of trees.
