•September 9, 2020•
Submitted by Emily Steele, Media Communications Coordinator, Illinois Extension easteele@illinois.edu
If you’re seeing spots on maple trees, you are not alone. Tar spot outbreaks are becoming more common and its distinct black spots can leave home gardeners worrying about their tree’s health.
“I recently traveled to Northern Illinois where nearly every Norway maple that I came across had tar spot symptoms,” says Travis Cleveland, a University of Illinois Extension plant pathologist.
This late-summer fungal disease is caused by fungi in the genus Rhytisma that is easily identified by its raised, black spots to develop on the upper surfaces of affected leaves.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.