Spanish Oddities
Fungus threatens the Spanish dehesa and jamón ibérico
By m.p.
Dec 17, 2007 - 10:45 PM

A devastating fungus is threatening a unique ecosystem typical to the Iberian peninsula, the sparse wooded pasture and meadow land of the ‘dehesa,’ which provides grazing land for the Iberian pig, and which, in turn, provides Spain and the world with the one of the most renowned of Spanish delicacies, jamón ibérico.

A report in the Telegraph on Monday said a fungus known as Phytophthora cinammomi is attacking the holm oaks which produce the acorns, or bellotas, on which the thoroughbred pigs feed. It’s also attacking the cork trees, whose acorns are an important source of animal feed in winter. The impact has also been felt in Portugal, one of the biggest exporters of cork.

The Telegraph said the fungus is killing 190,000 trees a year in Spain.

The paper quoted José Luis García Palacios, President of the Foro Encinal, the holm oak forum which was created in defence of the dehesa in May 2007, saying ‘at this rate, our great-grandchildren will not know what a holm oak is.’