WITCH'S BROOM
As you get older you always think that you have seen everything but, while walking around Ilkley town centre last weekend I saw a sight that I had never seen before. I love trees and I noticed a magnificent birch that it was absolutely full of what I initially took to be birds' nests. Not so. What I was looking at was commonly known as Witch's Broom. Take a look at these photos. I think the trees look magnificent.
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Apparently this deformity of growth, causing the tree to form clumps of live and dead shoots, can be caused by various things such as fungi or bacteria. If you want an explanation as to what causes these strange growths, you can take a look at this simple explanation at the Iowa State University website: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2005/2-23-2005/witchesbroom.html
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Apparently this deformity of growth, causing the tree to form clumps of live and dead shoots, can be caused by various things such as fungi or bacteria. If you want an explanation as to what causes these strange growths, you can take a look at this simple explanation at the Iowa State University website: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2005/2-23-2005/witchesbroom.html