American Chestnut

[tree md]

Just curious if anyone here has ever worked on an American Chestnut or indeed, even laid eyes on one. My grandfather was from KY and told me that the majority of trees in the forrest was Chestnuts where he came from. That is until the blight came through and killed them all off. I personally have never seen one except for in pictures and have spent my whole life running around the forrests of the Appalachains

Just curious if anyone has ever seen one. Here's a link to a site with lots of pics of American Chestnuts and some info on them and the ongoing restoration effort:

http://www2.volstate.edu/jschibig/resurrectingthechestnut.htm

 

[begleytree]

I have a 1920's tree book that talks about a disease that is in NY that is killing the chestnut trees but scientists are developing vaccienes for it and it should not be a problem.
just odd to read about the blight in the present to future tense
-Ralph

 

[Castenea]

Have seen Chestnut sprouts and saplings. The most accessible were alongside the Appalachian trail north of Washington Monument state park in MD.

Actually saw one that was over 5"DBH in WV, but it had cankers and I doubt it is still alive (top was already dead):bang: .

 

[moray]

Growing in my Yard

I have three 1-year-old chestnuts growing in my yard. The parent tree is a wild tree, apparently still blight-free, growing a few miles from my house. It is about 60 feet tall and measures 14 inches DBH. I have seen at least a dozen wild trees growing within 25 miles of my house, the biggest being about 45 feet tall, 55 feet across the crown, and perhaps 2 feet in diameter. You can get seedlings from the American Chestnut Foundation. Native trees are quite uncommon, but even here in Maine at the northern end of their historic range, there are at least a few hundred still making it in the wild. All will ultimately succumb to the blight, but many will become decent-sized trees before that happens. You can get much more information from the ACF, including leads to local people involved in the recovery effort.

A really terrific and very interesting tree!

 

[moray]

Vaccines???

I have a 1920's tree book that talks about a disease that is in NY that is killing the chestnut trees but scientists are developing vaccienes for it and it should not be a problem.
just odd to read about the blight in the present to future tense
-Ralph

Are you sure? Plants don't have immune systems, so you can't vaccinate them against anything.

The "treatments" for chestnut blight that I am aware of include some sort of wet mud pack applied over the cankers to smother the fungus, introducing a much less virulent form of the fungus that gradually replaces the serious form in the wild, and breeding resistance into the American Chestnut by backcrossing over several generations with disease-resistant Chinese Chestnuts. After enough such backcrossing, you end up with a 15/16 American Chestnut with good disease resistance. In Virginia, I believe, they now have a bunch of such trees and are about to begin reintroducing them to the wild in the heart of their old range.

 

[PUclimber]

There's still one standing in West Lafayette just off Purdue's campus that has been used for reproduction and experiments.

 

[PA Plumber]

We have a small grove of American Chestnut. The saplings are in great shape. Anything in the 4" diameter range look bad with lots of blight or dead. I understand the U.S. has been working with the Chinese to get a tree that is 99% U.S. American Chestnut, yet blight resistant. That "hybrid" should be available in the next couple of years.

 

[begleytree]

Are you sure? Plants don't have immune systems, so you can't vaccinate them against anything.

The "treatments" for chestnut blight that I am aware of include some sort of wet mud pack applied over the cankers to smother the fungus, introducing a much less virulent form of the fungus that gradually replaces the serious form in the wild, and breeding resistance into the American Chestnut by backcrossing over several generations with disease-resistant Chinese Chestnuts. After enough such backcrossing, you end up with a 15/16 American Chestnut with good disease resistance. In Virginia, I believe, they now have a bunch of such trees and are about to begin reintroducing them to the wild in the heart of their old range.

I realize this. I merely quoted the book. wondered if anyone would catch that.
-Ralph

 

[ATH]

The stump strputs are actually fairly common within their original native range. They grow long enough to produce a couple of seeds and feed the roots a little, then sucumb to the blight.

I am looking forward to the time when a truly resistant strain is widely available.

 

[treevet]

There was/is an A Chestnut just north of Flemington NJ by a big barn converted into an exotic house. I recognized it as not being a ch chestnut and had it verified by others. It was/is stunted by disease and approx 3ft dia., maybe 20 feet tall. There was much trim work on old houses w beautiful chnut wood.in that area. From what old timers told me it was a 100 ft capable, beautiful tree. I picture it somewhat like a n red oak in the woods. The are a few 8" dia a chestnuts on an old prop in my current nborhood in Cincy I found last year.

 

[PA Plumber]

The Chestnut trees on our place mature enough to drop seed pods for a couple of years and then die. I haven't seen any of the large trees as described on this thread.

 

[WoodBurner44]

We just had a large (16" DH) American Chestnut die on our place. It had been bearing nuts for years and many saplings growing in that area are now bearing nuts.

The University of West Virginia has been running a breeding program in Morgantown WV to develop a blight resistant Chestnut. It is a very long term project as it takes ten or more years to see the results of a cross. Have not heard when they expect a resistant tree to be available to the public.

 

[younggun]

Ive seen a couple, mature and dropping seed, don't know how big but i can check the next time I'm near their

 

[buzz sawyer]

I have relatives in northern PA who had one. From what I was told, the sprouts grow until the bark starts to develop furrows, then the blight gets hold. Can anyone confirm that?

 

[ATH]

I have relatives in northern PA who had one. From what I was told, the sprouts grow until the bark starts to develop furrows, then the blight gets hold. Can anyone confirm that?

confirmed

 

[treevet]

"Anne Frank's tree may be cut down", Cincinnati Enquirer, Sunday, March 11, 2007 (The Associated Press). Amsterdam, Netherlands- Amsterdam's city council gave the owner of the chestnut tree that comforted Anne Frank while she was in hiding a license to cut it down. Opponents have six weeks to file an objection. lThe large, 150 year old tree has been attacked by a fungus and is in danger of falling down. The tree is familiar to some 25 million readers of the "The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank". It stands in the courtyard of the "secret annex," the canal-side warehouse where her family hid during the Nazi occupation. ........"From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree............as long as this exists,....I cannot be unhappy". Could this be a horsechestnut tree or are there large chestnuts in the Netherlands?

 

[oldirty]

not one of my proudest moments

but at a company i worked at years ago we took one down. a big'n nonetheless.

this was more or less when i first got started in the biz. so i did not take the moment to admire the big fella.

obvoiusly i did not know or appreciate just what it was i was looking at.





oldirty

 

[treevet]

I m real curious what a big honker a. chestnut 120 footer looked like. Kind like a dinosaur. You can see pictures but there s no drama.

 

[CRN Tree]

I know of only two here in a small valley both were both lost during the flood in june. Only a few people even knew what they were.

 

[J.Walker]

Chestnut

We did a removal before Christmas of a large dead chestnut, about 32"at breast hight. We were not sure what kind of tree it was, no bark around the trunk. After the tree was on the ground you could tell it was chestnut by the grain, something like white oak. Very dense wood, glad I had the tractor with a loader on it to pick up the firewood size pieces.
I have a couple old dressers that are chestnut and a grain is wonderfull.
I find some folks who confuse the Buckeye tree (state tree of Ohio) with the Chestnut tree. Buckeye tree wood is soft compared to the Chestnut tho.
What makes a Chestnut American? Going to digout my tree books and have a look onless some one can help?
Thanks