Dogwood anthracnose is a disease caused by Discula destructiva, a fungus of probable exotic origin that is a serious threat to natural populations of Cornus florida in the eastern United States. This epidemic provides an interesting opportunity for the study of the ecology of a highly virulent pathogen and its host. We present evidence that dead dogwoods tend to have larger neighboring conspecifics than do living dogwoods, that smaller trees have higher levels of foliar infection than larger trees and that in trees of reproductive size, higher levels of anthracnose infection are associated with lower fruit production. In contrast to our data on mortality, proximity to conspecifics did not account for significant variation in the severity of foliar anthracnose infection among live dogwoods. These patterns of infection suggest that D. destructiva could severely impair the ability of this important component of the forest understory to regenerate itself.