BCAT News

Burlington is on the list of some 90 communities in Massachusetts with known instances of beech leaf disease, a recently discovered disease that is concerning arborists. 

There’s still a lot that scientists don’t know about the disease, but it’s believed to be spread by microscopic parasites that infect the leaves and buds. 

“It was first discovered in 2012 in Ohio, and it’s been more recent around here that we’ve noticed it,” said Daniel Cohen, arborist with Hartney Greymont in Needham. “Unfortunately beech trees have a lot of other stressors, other insects and diseases that are affecting them, so although it’s only been here for half a dozen years, it’s only recently we’ve identified it as a separate stressor.” 

According to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, beech leaf disease was first identified in Burlington in 2022, and has been found in all Massachusetts counties. It can be identified by dark bands that form between the lateral veins of beech leaves; in trees with a significant infection, you can look up at a beech tree and see the dark patches. 

“It adversely affects younger, smaller trees more quickly,” Cohen said. “The disease becomes a nutrient sink; it makes a tree waste more of its resources, and younger trees have less of a reserve of nutrients and succumb more quickly.” 

A sapling can die within two to five years of being infected. 

Cohen encouraged anyone who identifies suspected beech leaf disease to call an arborist, either to help the tree fight the disease or to remove it in order to protect the larger forest; as much as 10 percent of Massachusetts’ forests are made up of beech trees. 

“If one tree is infected, likely the whole localized forest is infected, and that obviously has a much larger implication. There can be a whole ecological chain of succession that can occur.”

DCR is also collecting information about the spread of beech leaf disease; you can share information about the location and symptoms here.