Witches Broom

Witches Brooms are a common enough sight, especially on birch, making the tree look as if it is covered in dark star-bursts. They are often caused by a fungus, Taphrina betulina. The Taphrina genus seems to have specialised in causing plant deformities, for example, T deformans causes the bright red blisters of peach leaf curl and apple leaf curl whilst T weisneri causes the broom on ornamental cherry in Japan. The fungus rarely kills the host and brooms often provide a snug habitat for other animals and plants to thrive in. This one already has a light bearding of lichen.

They are rather theatrical to look at and that tied in nicely with the Panto rehearsal in the afternoon in which there is a wicked witch, a poisoned apple and quite a lot of slapstick involving a broom!