Los Angeles' legendary palm trees are dying – and few will be replaced

A beetle and a fungus are killing off the trees that have become synonymous with the city, making way for trees that give more shade and use less water

They are the sultry, swaying backdrop to countless films, posters and music videos, an effective way to announce: this is Los Angeles.

Palm trees greet you outside the LAX airport, they line Hollywood Boulevard, stand guard over the Pacific and crisscross neighbourhoods poor and rich, a botanical army of stems and fronds which symbolise the world's entertainment capital.