The horse chestnut is one of 168 tree species declared at risk of dying out in Europe PAConkers could become rarer and smaller as pests and diseases threaten horse chestnuts with extinction, according to a scientific assessment. The leaf-miner moth and the horse chestnut scale insect are attacking the leaves of the trees, which are also at risk from a fungus called leaf blotch and bleeding canker bacteria. The horse chestnut is one of 168 tree species declared at risk of dying out in Europe in the red list of trees compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They face the greatest threat in their native Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia, where they are rated as vulnerable. David Allen, co-author of the IUCN report, said that horse chestnuts were also threatened in the UK, where they are not native…

Source: The Times September 27, 2019 23:04 UTC