Dutch elm disease

noun

1. a disease of elms characterized by wilting, yellowing, and falling of the leaves and caused by a fungus, Ceratostomella ulmi, transmitted by bark beetles.

Dutch elm disease

noun

1. a disease of elm trees caused by the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi and characterized by withering of the foliage and stems and eventual death of the parts of the tree above ground

Dutch elm disease

/ dŭch /

1. A disease of elm trees caused by the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi, spread by the European elm bark beetle Scolytus multistriatus and by the contact of the roots of healthy elms with those of infected trees. It produces brown streaks in the wood and results in the eventual death of the tree. No cure has been discovered, but prevention methods include the injection of insecticide into healthy trees and the destruction of all elms in infected areas.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dutch elm disease¹

First recorded in 1920–25