Look for Beech Leaf Disease

photo by Carrie Ewing

We Need Your Help Spotting This Disease! Look for signs of beech leaf disease using this guide. Although the causal agent hasn't been identified yet, this disease has been contributing to American beech decline and mortality across northeastern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania, and southwestern New York.

It has also been found in Chautauqua County in southwestern New York and along the north shore of Lake Erie in Ontario. BLD affects American beech (Fagus grandifolia), European beech (F. sylvatica), Oriental beech (F. orientalis), and possibly Chinese beech (F. engleriana) and Korean beech (F. crenata).

Very early symptoms include dark striped bands between lateral veins of leaves and reduced leaf size. As symptoms progress, aborted buds, reduced leaf production, and premature leaf drop lead to an overall reduction in canopy cover, ultimately resulting in death of sapling-sized trees within 2-5 years.

Contact your local forest health specialist or State Departments of Agriculture and Forestry if you observe symptoms of beech leaf disease. In Pennsylvania, contact the DCNR Bureau of Forestry, Division of Forest Health.