X marks the spot

This tree and the one almost out of shot have been X-ed. Not graffiti, but rather the local council. I have a nasty feeling that the X in this case denotes a death warrant and these two healthy specimens of plant life will soon be no more. Their only crime is possibly being too large, but hey, I'm no tree doctor, for all I know they could be harbouring some deadly funghi, time will tell.