Christmas tree pests and weeds The pathogen often makes Douglas fir trees unsalable as Christmas trees and affects the Christmas tree farming industry. Douglas firs are also affected by "Phaeocryptopus gaumanni" which causes Swiss needlecast. Red band needle blight is a fungal disease which affects coniferous trees, particularly pine, with a worldwide distribution. The disease is caused by the fungi "Dothistroma septosporum". Since the late 1990s its appearance in the United Kingdom has increased, among the most affected species is Corsican pine and the disease has been a significant problem in Thetford Forest. Though the disease spread rapidly during September 2007 Christmas tree growers remained
Trysting tree smooth bark. The 'Great Fraser Yew' may be as much as 700 years old and once served as the rallying point of the Clan Fraser members in times of trouble. Kelso, in the Scottish Borders has a 'trysting tree' which is connected with the annual Common Ridings. The locally famous trysting place of the 'Three Thorns of Carlinwalk', this being an old name for Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway, are recorded in the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Robert Burns writes of a trysting thorn tree (see below) at the Mill of Mannoch at Coylton in South Ayrshire. A new