The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Drive around any neighborhood and you most certainly will find "butchered" Crepe Myrtle trees. The image uses an auto's ignition key placed into the trees' trunk to highlight trunk damage. This tree has been repeatedly "cropped" over many years with black fungus growing around the gnarled knots, setting the stage for disease progression and most definitely an early demise. (North Carolina Cooperative extension).