All the Leaves Are Brown

Every year the chestnut trees in Berlin start to turn brown shortly after the fruit starts growing. The leaves get brown spots, dry out, shrivel up and the tree essentially looks dead. Nevertheless every spring the tree springs to life again. Years ago I heard that the chestnuts are afflicted by something but didn't really know what. You know how there are things you always wonder about but never bother to look up? This is one them.

Last week, I finally did some homework. Because I know you are crazy curious about this too. Let me introduce you to the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner. This is one of the many pests affecting Berlin's trees. In short, the trees don't die because the leaf miner, a moth, attacks the tree fairly late in the growing season.

And now we know.