Phillip, hiking along Crescent Lake in Olympic National Park
early October, 2016
Redbay and Florida Avocado Face Extinction from Laurel Wilt
One of my favorite trees, the Redbay (Persea borbonia) will likely be extinct within a few years due to laurel wilt disease. After the death of the Florida citrus industry (See: A Race to Save the Florida Orange by Altering its DNA and Citrus Disease With No Cure is Ravaging Florida Groves) due to Huanglongbing bacteria also referred to as "Citrus Greening" the latest victim of an increasingly connected world is the Florida Redbay.
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The fungus Raffaela lauricola is responsible for killing redbay and other trees in the coastal plains of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The fungus causes a devastating disease of redbay trees and other laurel species (like Florida Avocado). Extensive mortality of redbay, an attractive evergreen tree common along the coasts of the southeastern United States, has been observed in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida since 2003. This fungus is extremely virulent. One small point of inoculation is capable of killing a tree.
The fungus is introduced into redbay or other laurel tree species by an exotic ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus, a native to Southeast Asia) as it burrows into trees and lays eggs. The fungus serves as a food source for beetle larvae, moving through the tree's vessels causing a vascular wilt disease.
Redbay is also the primary host for the larvae of the palamedes swallowtail butterfly. This fungus is also associated with the death of other trees in the laurel family (sassafras, pondberry, and pondspice) and can be deadly to spicebush and avocado. Experts are concerned the wilt will spread to other members of the laurel family, which are common components in forests across the United States and other areas of the Americas.
Redbay trees once fascinated on the hottest days of summer, ejecting droplets of water in a spritzing fashion from their crowns creating a cooling sensation. Today, the are all dead or dying in Florida.
Burning Florida Citrus Groves Infected with Huanglongbing Bacteria
The Redbay once ranged from North Carolina to Texas. Today it is virtually gone from the Deep South and dying quickly in Florida. The first infection was noted in 2002 in a South Carolina tree.
The next victim will be avocado trees in Florida. With the disease spreading at far greater than the originally estimated 20 miles per year it is only a matter of time before it has reached throughout the range of the redbay tree.
Do not remove dead redbay trees as this only spreads the disease.
UF/IFAS News Releases
UF/IFAS scientists find potential biological control for avocado-ravaging disease (12/2/2014)
Laurel wilt disease not spread by fruit, seeds from infected avocado trees, UF researchers say (9/8/2012)
Assessing the Survival of the Redbay Ambrosia Beetle and Laurel Wilt Pathogen in Wood Chips
Redbay Ambrosia Beetle Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)
Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing Bacteria)
We've Read
Yoho, Banff, Glaicer, and Kootenay National Parks
British Columbia and Alberta, Canada
Thanksgiving comes to Canada a month and a half before USA. We're thankful for Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, Canadian Tire, the Royal Canadian Mint, and of course Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool.
Eduardo Fedriani and Julián Goméz photographed by Joan Crisol for the Modus Vivendi campaign "Antibacterial Line."
