SOD - The Mystery Continues

Back on July 5th of this year, the ISW reported that the fungus that causes sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum) had been found in New York. Now this article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer sheds more light on the situation, pointing out that the infected tree, located in Nassau County's Tiffany Creek Preserve, is miles away from any nursery that might have received contaminated stock from the west coast. This finding, along with preliminary test results indicating that SOD has been found in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, suggests that the fungus may have a history on the east coast of the U.S. Can a request to lift the ban on California nursery stock be far away? You may also want to read similar this report from the New York Times (registration may be required).

Thanks to a member of the ALIENS-L listserver for posting a link to the story.