Houston, D.R. 1994 Major new tree disease epidemics: beech bark disease.. Annual Review of Phytopathology 32: 75-87.

Notes: Beech bark disease (BBD) of Fagus sylvatica and F. grandifolia is initiated by the beech scale insect (Cryptococcus fagisuga) feeding on the living outer bark and allowing the invasion of Nectria species which kill the bark tissues. The patterns of the spread and development of the causal agents of this disease in North America (C. fagisuga, N. coccinea var. faginata and N. galligena), the major factors that influence these patterns, and the short- and long-term effects of the disease on trees and forests are described.