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Blog - pathogens

Plant surfaces : Cuticles and hairs

Plant surfaces : Cuticles and hairs

by Chris, 2 June, 2017, 0 comments

Plants need to protect themselves from the vagaries of the environment - they need to prevent or resist the entry of disease pathogens (bacteria, fungi and viruses) and also restrict the loss of water from their tissues.   The flow of water through a plant (the transpiration stream) is important in the supply of minerals to the growing regions and the ’control' of leaf temperature (as water evaporates it uses heat energy -  exerting a cooling effect). However, uncontrolled water loss would soon result in wilting and death, so the outer layer of plants - the epidermis, has a special layer, the cuticle.  The cuticle is made from waxes, which often form complex and intricate patterns (when viewed with an electron microscope).   Read more...
Box shrub

Trouble in the garden

by Lewis, 23 April, 2017, 0 comments

Topiary is often on display in our parks and gardens, and many of the stately homes managed by the National trust have exceptional displays.  One species that is a great favourite for topiary is Box (Buxus sempervirens).  Box has small green leaves and a dense growth habit; it is hardy and poisonous (contains an alkaloid - buxine, which causes respiratory paralysis).. It was once planted close to houses (according to folklore) to deter witches entering.  It was used extensively in formal gardens since Tudor times.   However, Box is now under threat from pathogens that result in Box Blight, and also the caterpillar of the Box tree Moth from Asia. Read more...
Monitoring and improving the health of our trees

Monitoring and improving the health of our trees

by Chris, 1 October, 2015, 2 comments

Our trees, woodlands and forests are facing a variety of challenges to their well being, ranging from the changing (and rather variable) nature of our climate (extreme events), habitat fragmentation, the introduction of non-native species (sycamore, turkey oak) and ‘new’ pathogens and pests (some airborne, some travelling on imported plants).  Fortunately, there are also a number of people and organisations who are working on ways to address these challenges. At the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Dr Stephen Cavers, is the leader of the PROTREE project .  Using the Scots Pine as a “representative” of our native tree species, it will look at the following threats / pathogens :- Read more...
Bluebells and boars

Bluebells and boars

by Lewis, 9 April, 2012, 2 comments

Wild boar became extinct in the U.K. in the thirteenth century –so we have been ‘boar free’ for circa 700 years.  However, towards the end of the last century commercial pig farming developed; seemingly some escaped and have established free living and breeding populations. Attitudes to these pigs / boars fall into two broad categories : those who welcome the return / reintroduction of a missing species and its ecological impact those who have a more negative perception of the boar – in that, they do damage, have the potential to harbour disease and can cause direct damage to people. Read more...
Phytoliths, metals and phytoremediation.

Phytoliths, metals and phytoremediation.

by Chris, 17 November, 2011, 4 comments

Plants take up essential nutrients (nitrates, phosphates, potassium, magnesium etc) through their roots, but some also take up other, more unusual substances – such as silicon, nickel, cadmium, copper, cobalt. Grasses, in particular, are known to take up silicon and then deposit it in their leaves.  The silicon that they absorb is converted into tiny granules called phytoliths, which are often located under the waxy cuticle.   Read more...
ash tree and bud

Observing your trees – a problem with ash

by Prof Julian Evans, 30 November, 2007, 15 comments

Sherlock Holmes’ common criticism of his friend Dr Watson was: “You see but do not observe”. All of us are guilty. But once our attention has been drawn to a subject, we start seeing ‘everywhere’ what had before passed unremarked upon. And this is what I want to do with Ash trees. In May I began noticing that two Ash trees visible from the study window were behaving very differently. They were next to each other and both about 60 feet high. One flushed and developed normally, and was still in full leaf in mid-October, the other ‘struggled’ into leaf with a few leaves eaten, a few not appearing on shoots until August, and many shoots never flushing at all. Throughout the summer the crown was transparent with just a few, scattered leaves hanging on. Read more...

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