Our trees are under attack.
That's the message I took away from plant expert Jerry Turney.
Following every tree genus and species that flowed articulately from his lips was the name of the fungi or pest that can kill it.
"Phoenix canarriensis, the Canary Island palm," Turney began. "They're susceptible to Fusarium wilt that moves from tree to tree by pruning clippers or chain saw blades."
If the tree trimmers don't wash their blades in antiseptic or alcohol between trees, they'll spread the wilt and kill off hundreds of these popular palms.
I was struck by how many examples he gave of tree trimmers who don't practice such a simple, preventive technique.
These popular shopping mall trees are also the preferred host of the red palm weevil, he said. "Those are the large, black ones with the red stripes," he described.
Next tree, next killer.
There's the ubiquitous bark beetle. You may have heard of him. He, she, it is busy wiping out 6 million acres of the state's forests. These godforsaken creatures are eating the Sierra Nevada into oblivion, not to mention the San Bernardino and Angeles national forests.
Turney is a tree doctor who gets phone calls in the middle of the night.
A city tree committee called him about the Phoenix dactylifera or date palms in Pasadena. Most of them were dying.
Turney noticed some others thrived - those on the parkway that got regular watering.
"I don't know why they thought they didn't have to water them," he said.
So much to learn, so many trees dying.
I noticed that El Monte became a Tree City USA Friday. Good for them. Now, let's hope they teach their tree trimmers some prevention methods.
If not, call Turney.
In the past, tree trimmers used to encourage poking spikes in barks of palms. Now, experts know that only invited pests.
It was like leaving the door unlocked for thieves.
"I've seen lots of decay in palms, all from spike wounds," Turney said. "They are entry wounds for decay."
Bad pruning can kill off a palm like the guillotine did Marie Antoinette. It's head falls off.
You don't want to be under that when it falls. The head of a palm can weigh two tons, he said. Oh gravity!
Let me explain.
Pruners that cut off the fronds of the Canary Island palm or trim it so severely so the pineapple top is all that's left.
Not good for the plant. This invites fungal decay. Eventually, the rot reaches the top and its head falls off, he explained.
This happened at a park in Alhambra.
By the end of the lecture, I was sick of palms. But here are a few fun facts:
The only palm native to Southern California is Washingtonia filifera, the California fan palm. It's mostly in Palm Springs.
The columnar palms with the trunks as skinny as a teenager and the fan fronds on top are called Mexican fan palms. They are very common and you could say they are native, since California was first part of Mexico.
Did you know some palms are both male and female. No, it's not the date palm. You see them at the San Gabriel Mission.
And then there's the Caryota mitis or fishtail palm. These live for 30 years, then die.
He visited a 30-year-old condo development in Ventura County surrounded by dying fishtail palms. The owners needed cranes to haul out their carcases.
Do I have time for one more?
Public works directors despise the gorgeous Cinnamomum camphora or camphor tree. Its roots break sidewalks, Turney explained. But nothing beats its lime-green fluorescence in the spring.
Not even a palm.
The trick is, keeping all these urban trees alive. So far, we're not very good stewards.
Steve Scauzillo covers the environment and the communities along the Puente Hills. He's the current recipient of the Aldo Leopold Award for Distinguished Editorial Writing from The Wilderness Society. Follow him on Twitter @stevscaz or email him at firstname.lastname@example.org.