Ash Dieback Now Threatens British Trees

"In high summer, it should be possible to wander freely through a stand of mature ash trees."

"Their rustling green boughs should form a dense canopy, blocking out the sun’s rays and making it hard for nettles and other weeds to grow below. But outside the Norfolk village of Cawston, sunlight is streaming through the wilted and partial canopy of a 20-acre ash wood; and the nettles are chest-high and nasty. Almost every other tree has leafless branches, streaked with necrotic lesions. Many are dead. According to Bagehot’s guide, Steve Scott of the Forestry Commission, 'This whole plantation’s completely knackered.'"

The Economist's Bagehot blog had the story July 6, 2013.