"I don’t recall seeing anything like this before."

Interesting cysts covering a young choke cherry tree.

Vancouver Island’s arbutus trees are looking more brown than green these days. Forest biologist Andy MacKinnon says a fungus is attacking the trees, causing the leaves to die off.

"The spruce bark beetle epidemic currently ravaging Southcentral AK's spruce trees is well-known, but I haven't heard mention of other pests occurring in conjunction."