sudden oak death en · NOUN
Meanings
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(uncountable) A disease that kills oak and other forest trees, caused by the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum.
More recently, sudden oak death, oak decline, beech wilt, sweet chestnut blight and horse chestnut canker have infested Europe’s forests.
2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 296: