Witches' broom disease

Japanese: てんぐ巣病 - てんぐすびょう

A disease of plants in which twigs and leaves grow abnormally densely. When it appears on high tree branches, it takes on an appearance similar to a bird's nest or mistletoe, and in German it is called "witch's broom." Cherry witches' broom is caused by the parasitism of Taphrina , a type of ascocyst fungus, and is particularly noticeable on Yoshino cherry trees, which are prone to the disease, as the diseased branches grow densely during the flowering season, as in the song "The Tengu's nest puts out its green leaves early" (by Kenji Miyazawa). Witches' broom on firs and aspen trees is caused by a rust fungus (basidiomycete).

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

小枝や葉が異常に密生する植物の病気をいう。樹木の高い枝に出ると鳥の巣またはヤドリギに似た外観となり，ドイツ語などでは〈魔女のほうき〉と呼ばれる。サクラてんぐ巣病は子囊菌類の1種Taphrinaの寄生によって起こり，発病の多いソメイヨシノでは〈天狗巣ははやくも青い葉を出し〉(宮沢賢治)と歌われたように，開花期に病枝だけ葉を密生するのでよく目だつ。モミ類やアスナロのてんぐ巣病は銹病菌(担子菌)によって起こる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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