American Chestnut leaves & nuts (From Wikipedia)

At the turn of the 20th century, there were nearly four billon of these trees – one tree out of four was an American Chestnut in the old-growth Appalachian forests. The trees habitat ranged from Maine to Georgia. And these trees would often attain heights up to 130 ft. and 10 or more feet in diameter! They were regarded as the “Redwood of the east.” Many birds and animals depended on the trees’s nut crops for food – as did we. Its wood was considered the best native lumber – tough, water and rot resistant, and easy to grow.

Where are they now? What happened?

The story begins just before 1904, near New York City. Plantings of some exotic chestnut trees (which may have been the Japanese Chestnut) proved to be a fatal mistake.

A parasite – “chestnut blight” (a fungus of Asian origin) was introduced and so began the devastation of 99.99 percent of the American Chestnut population! This blight caused one of the greatest ecological disasters in the history of the world’s forests.

The blight is spread by spores from tree to tree. The infection causes limbs to develop swollen, discolored bark. This is quickly followed by bark-shattering cankers which girdle and kill the trees within a few years. Extinction would have happened decades ago except for the fact that the blight does not generally destroy the root system. And so, new shoots appear, but ultimately suffer the same fate.

This American Chestnut sapling symbolizes the species’ promising future. (From Wikipedia)

Can anything be done?

We are happy to report that the answer is “yes – it’s looking very promising,” thanks to the extraordinary efforts of The American Chestnut Foundation and the development of blight-resistant American Chestnut trees through “backcross breeding.” (Hybrids of American & Chinese chestnut trees are crossed back onto American specimens, which are inoculated with blight and screened for resistance; the process is repeated for several generations until a nearly pure strain results.) Experiments are showing that this breeding plan will result in blight-resistant American Chestnuts. 

Let’s continue the story of one of the most amazing and beautiful trees of the eastern forests!

What can you do?

Come meet The American Chestnut Foundation VT/NH Chapter on Feb. 3rd and 4th at the Center of NH Expo Center for the NH Farm & Forest Expo. (This is wonderful winter fun for everyone, young and old.)

Consider becoming a Member. If you’re interested in more information contact TACF 160 Zillicoa St. Suite D, Asheville NC 28801

In the words of a former president of TACF:

“This one tree…can help make it plain to those who still do not understand, that…concerns which sometimes appear to be at odds with one another are deeply interconnected.

When the forests die, it isn’t just the wildlife that suffers, nor just the tender-hearted. We humans have a cold, hard cash interest in seeing that our ecosystems stay healthy. When the tree was hurt, so were we; and badly. As a tool to teach that lesson, the American Chestnut is unexcelled.”