Great story out og the Sun Sentinel:

Its name, Texas Phoenix palm decline, is decidedly humdrum. But the new disease's potential effects on the state's palm trees are extraordinary.

Also extraordinary is the squeamish way it's transmitted: through the vomit of a mysterious bug.

Texas Phoenix palm decline, discovered in its namesake state some 30 years ago, is a fatal disease that kills palms quickly. Detected in Florida in 2006, among its preferred victims is the sabal palm, the state's official tree. So far, it's confined to the Tampa area, but scientists, arborists and landscapers are nervously watching to see if it has South Florida in its crosshairs.

Read the entire story here