Ancient chestnut trees in Europe are vanishing. "The culprits: a moth that produces leaf-eating larvae and a bacterium that makes trunks bleed and die. ... A cure? Not immediately in sight."

"GHENT, Belgium (AP) — Visit the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris and chestnut trees greet you as you wander among graves of luminaries such as Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison.

When Anne Frank was in hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam, the view of a monumental chestnut tree was one thing that cheered her up.

In Cambridge, England, the two-century-old chestnut standing outside King's College chapel has become a beloved icon.

In all those places — and over much of Europe — the horse chestnut tree is under threat."

Raf Casert Reports for the Associated Press September 5, 2012. [2]