Massaria disease of plane (Splanchnonema platani): what the sources record

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here.

This page describes what four published sources say about one disease of plane trees. It does not identify a fungus from a photo and says nothing about any single tree. Forest Research is a UK government agency; text adapted from its pages is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The parent page, wood decay fungi on trees, compares the fungi that have pages here.

Status and reporting

Forest Research lists Massaria disease as notifiable in the UK. It asks for reports through TreeAlert in Great Britain and TreeCheck in Northern Ireland. For the reporting routes see report a pest in the United Kingdom.

Hosts and where lesions show

Forest Research says the disease affects London plane and its parent species. It describes lesions on the upper surface of lower and middle-order branches, mostly on trees over 40 years old. The symptoms guide hosted on trees.org.uk describes a pinkish strip, covering up to 30 per cent of the circumference of the branch. The sources describe a soft rot of the branch wood; the page on white, brown and soft rot compared sets out how rot types are defined.

What the sources say about failure

Forest Research: says branch failure has been seen as soon as three months after symptoms appear, and more typically after one or more years.
Forest Research: says other fungi may play a role in the decay.
London Tree Officers Association: in a 2012 position, describes the fungus as latent and endophytic, with a brittle fracture of affected branches.

Where the sources differ

The sources give different first records. Forest Research says the disease was found on living trees in 2009, while the London Tree Officers Association says it has been present in London since 2007.

Management, as Forest Research puts it

Forest Research says there is no treatment other than removing affected branches. It also describes biosecurity, which includes cleaning tools between trees. For credentials of people who examine trees, see tree risk assessment methods and consulting arborist credentials. Where any source mentions chemical use, pesticide licences by country says who may apply products to trees.