FUNKY FUNGUS AFFECTING JUNIPER

COULD THE CLASSIC Gin & Tonic soon be an endangered species? Juniper plants, the predominant botanical used in gin, are being “killed off” by a deadly disease in Scotland, a new report has warned. Amateur conservationist group Plantlife has released a “citizen science” study showing that Scottish juniper is in a “critical state” due to the emergence of a new fungal disease, called phytophthora austrocedrae. Plantlife said it is deeply concerned by the rapid decline of the plant, a quarter of which has been lost from areas where it was previously found. The group said the populations of the plant have been living on Scotland’s mountains, moors, dunes, and woodlands since the last ice age.

There is also a growing interest in locally sourced juniper for Scottish gin distillers, which is reinvigorating the use of Scottish juniper. According to the group, many juniper bushes are over a century old and are unable to seed and repopulate due to “land management practices” and afforestation. Almost 8O% of Scottish juniper recorded in 2O14 was either mature, old or dead. Meanwhile, young plants are vulnerable to vole grazing. In addition to these challenges, new sighting of phytophthora austrocedrae, an air-borne fungal pathogen, are regularly being recorded. The fungus has so far only been discovered in Argentina and the UK. It is not yet know how it arrived in the UK, but the fungus needs wet conditions to thrive and once it has infected bushes, they turn orange and then brown.