Photo showing a dead tree lit up by sunshine on a very sunny day, against a rich blue sky background and lush, healthy sycamore, oak and beech trees. This particular deciduous tree is a horse chestnut (Latin: aesculus hippocastanum), with its trunk and branches reaching upwards towards the sky, rather like a flame made of weathered driftwood. The 'conker' tree died following several fungal damage to its heartwood.