American Elm -

: The fungus clogged the tree's vascular system, preventing water from reaching the leaves. Within years—sometimes months—the stately giants turned into skeletal gray husks.

: Tiny elm bark beetles carried the fungus from tree to tree. american elm

By the 1970s, tens of millions of elms had died, leaving "Elm Streets" across the country ironically empty of their namesake. The Survivors and the Return What Happened To American Elm? : The fungus clogged the tree's vascular system,

The very thing that made the elm beloved—its ubiquity—became its downfall. In 1930, a shipment of logs from Europe arrived in Ohio carrying a stowaway: a fungus known as . The tragedy unfolded with clinical cruelty: american elm