not an expert...and not sure if I know what its called in english but it sounds like it had a fungus (?). Alot of my trees and shrubs had similar things last year at the end of summer-term used loosely!-because of the wet weather. I didn't do anything about it though, the trees and shrubs are all so big that I'd have to invest in a fungicide company to cover the costs!
But maybe Phal's Bryan has more info!

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