It got out of hand. We somehow underestimated the whole syndrome. Teams of plant pathologists, horticulturists and entomologists are racing to find a cause. They're using aerial remote-sensing technology to map the syndrome's progression and studying tissue samples in the lab. Homeowners are asked to inspect their trees regularly.
Live oaks are evergreens with rounded, leathery leaves.
Unlike the ramrod straight deciduous varieties, these oak trees are crooked and commercially worthless. Then a fine sawdust-like froth trickles down the bark, the waste from thousands of Ambrosia beetles that have bored inside the tree. The beetles, each no bigger than a grain of rice, host a fungus that enables them to digest wood. Soon, the oak's internal tissue layer that transports water up from the roots is choked off, and the tree begins to die. What confounds scientists is that this common scenario is by no means universal.