Plant Health: Smooth Patch of Oak

摘要

Some people look at smooth areas of bark on the trunks of bur and white oaks and think that squirrels (or wayward children) have been stripping the bark off their trees. Others are concerned that their tree is dying of a disease such as oak wilt. Butthese areas of smooth bark are actually caused by a benign condition called Smooth Patch of Oak. On some trees it may cover most of the trunk area, but on others it may only appear in a small, barely noticeable spot. Smooth Patch is found predominantly on white and bur oaks in our region; however, similar conditions are also known to affect elm, ironwood, sugar maple, linden, arborvitae, and willow trees.