Sunday 6 October 2013 Witches Broom

A friend emailed me this picture of a tree at with a growth known as witches broom, which she took last weekend.Witches broom is a disease or deformity that sometimes occurs in trees, where the natural structure of the plant is changed. A dense mass of shoots grows from a single point, resulting in something that looks like a birds nest or, if the shoots grow straight, like a broom.It can be caused by a fungal parasite or poor pruning and can persist for several years, but is rarely harmful to the tree.In the UK, witches broom is most often found in birch trees - the same type of tree used to make besom brooms, or traditional witches' brooms.Magically, witches broom is supposed to multiply the attributes of whatever tree it forms on. On a birch tree, it would be a symbol of fertility.If you have any more information about the effects of witches broom on trees or its magical use, leave a comment below.For more information:http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3700261http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch%27s broomhttp://www.kent-treecare.co.uk/modules.php?name=5 Reasons