Dutch elm disease

noun

a disease of elms characterized by wilting, yellowing, and falling of the leaves and caused by a fungus, Ceratostomella ulmi, transmitted by bark beetles.

Origin of Dutch elm disease

First recorded in 1920–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for dutch elm disease

Dutch elm disease

noun

a disease of elm trees caused by the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi and characterized by withering of the foliage and stems and eventual death of the parts of the tree above ground

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dutch elm disease in Science

Dutch elm disease

[dŭch]

A disease of elm trees caused by the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi, spread by the European elm bark beetle Scolytus multistriatus and by the contact of the roots of healthy elms with those of infected trees. It produces brown streaks in the wood and results in the eventual death of the tree. No cure has been discovered, but prevention methods include the injection of insecticide into healthy trees and the destruction of all elms in infected areas.