Are They Fighting Back? Love for the Horse Chesnut Tree in London, UK.
Above is a giant and healthy looking Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) on Hackney, near the Hackney City Farm. ( Visit tier website - www.hackneycityfarm.co.uk
For the last 8 to 10 years, these trees have been severely under attack by the larvae of the Leaf Mining Moth infecting the leaves, damaging the entire chestnut health - its immune system.
Over time, this will critically weaken the tree by impairing its ability to photosynthesize properly - "eat sunlight and turn it into food for our lungs".
Quote from Zena Edwards’ Poem “Ancestors Are Trees”.
Eventually the Horse Chesnut starves, and could potentially die.
However, recently, over this Spring season, I have been seeing more and more vibrant and full boughs of healthy Horse Chesnuts, and I tentatively celebrate their return full health for 2024 and onwards.
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~ Zena ~