Deadly fungus threatens gin-making Juniper stocks

The plant used to produce gin is in a “critical state” in Scotland as it is increasingly being killed off by a deadly fungus, a new report has warned.

The decline of the juniper bush in Scotland, where it has grown for thousands of years, has been hastened by the spread of a deadly fungal disease called phytophthora austrocedrae.

Only ever recorded in Argentina and the UK, the disease causes a bush to turn orange, then brown, eventually killing it. A survey, carried out by amateur enthusiasts found 63% of bushes in Scotland, many of which are more than a century old, to be showing signs of the disease. Furthermore, 79% of juniper bushes recorded in 2014 were either mature, old or dead and unable produce seeds, leaving….