This sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) has been coppiced, producing three main trunks, and later pollarded, creating multiple shoots where cut. Sadly this historically interesting specimen is succumbing to Phytophthora, a fungal infection recognisable by dark stains on the bark, whose mycelium ‘girdle’ the tree until it can no longer respire or circulate nutrients.
photo: © Fran Halsall