Would you have a panic attack if a tree or shrub of yours turned black? Well, before you do anything drastic, see if you can rule out "sooty molds," first. As tree diseases go, you could do a lot worse than sooty mold. "Sooty mold appropriately describes the disease, as it looks just like chimney soot," scribes Steve Nix. "Although unsightly, it seldom damages the tree." Read this piece from About's Forestry Guide to learn more about sooty molds.