The symptoms of anthracnose vary somewhat from host to host. Ash, dogwood, maple, oak and sycamore are some of the most common trees affected by anthracnose diseases.
Ash: Buds, leaves, and sometimes twigs can become infected. In early spring, infection of buds or expanding leaves results in irregular brown blotches and distortion of leaflets. Infected leaflets often fall to the ground.
Maple: Infection of this host results in irregular necrotic leaf lesions that vary in size and shape. At least two different anthracnose fungi may be involved - one causing small, angular spots and the other causing large dead blotches along the leaf veins.
Oak: If oaks are infected early, buds may be killed before they begin to open in spring. As a consequence, twigs remain bare and eventually die. Later, new shoots may grow from the lower branch.
Sycamore: The early leaf blight stage of anthracnose in sycamore causes complete death of young leaves and twigs. Twig infection can cause shoot tips to die back as much as 8 to 10 inches. Infection of expanded leaves results in dead blotches at the leaf edges or along the leaf veins.
