How to ID American Chestnut

[party_wagon]

I was going out to mark some property lines on a section of family land that really hasn't seen any use in a while. We own alot of land & most of it isn't managed very well. Well, anyways I was asking my grandmother what landmarks I should look for near the corners. For one she told me there is a metal pipe in the ground, but the easy way to find it is there is a giant American Chestnut about 20 feet from it. She goes on to tell me that she had a bioligist from a local university come out and take a look at it 40 or so years ago because of its vast size. I know about the blight, but nothing about iding a tree from another. She is 90something and doesn't exactly know whats going on all the time. Nor had she been out to this corner in likely close to 40 years. I walk off in the direction of the corner expecting to find nothing but a pipe in the ground if I'm lucky. Well, I get back near where the corner should be & come across a tree that is about 10 feet in diameter & well over 100 feet tall. About 20 feet away is a pipe sticking out of the ground. The tree is full of buds at its top & just looks ancient. I get online and look up images of giant American Chestnuts & sure enough the first thing I go to has bark almost identical to this tree.
http://ctacf.org/page.cfm/AmericanChestnutTree
scroll down a little to the old picture w/ a guy between 2 huge trees.

This tree is in a densley wooded area so picking up leaves was not a priority at the time. Are there any other trees that can grow to this size & have this bark pattern? I did not have a camera w/ me either so no picks atm either. The pieces of bark get as big around as my arm and run for dozens of feet up the tree in straight lines. This tree is in the south eastern u.s. so I know that it is very unlikely that it actually is an American Chestnut after the blight. Curious as to what it could be though.

 

[rarefish383]

I live in MD, and as a kid we had quite a few American Chestuts growing in the area. They all were growing off the bases of old stumps. They would get about the diameter of your leg and die off. Unfortunatly that farm was developed about 20 years ago and they are all gone. When I first got maried, 26 years ago, we were looking at buying a farm with my parrents. It was located in Western MD. My Dad and I were walking the woods and we found a stand of A C that were a good bit bigger, maybe 14 to 16 inch diameter, that appeared to be thriving.

There is a program that is trying to develope blight resistent trees. Volunteers plant American Ches crossed with Chinese Ches. Then they cross the A/C Chestnut with another pure American Chestnut. After so many crosses you get back to a tree that is 99% American but it still has the blight resistence of the Chinese.

I would not be surprised to find a survivor, and I would dearly like to see it. If it were me, I would do some research on line, about the efforts to bring these trees back. I'd also contact the leading researchers and have them look at your tree (after you verify what it is, you can do a good job of that yourself with a pocket tree guide in the summer).

I just Googled "Saving the American Chestnut" and there is a lot of info there. You could contact the American Chestnut Foundation in VT.

When you get a chance, take some pics, and follow up with some more research, Joe.

 

[silverzuk]

Please get pictures.
I've never seen an american chesnut bigger than 6" in diameter.
They grow until they bear nuts, then the blight kills them. Some of those nuts will produce a tree, and the same thing occurs a few years later.

I would really be surprised if your tree is an American Chestnut. If it is I would like to come see it. I am sure you state forestry division would also like to see it too.

What state are you in?
If this indeed an American Chestnut, it is a pretty big deal.

 

[Mike PA]

There are other trees that get to that size. An oak could be that big, and a chestnut oak has similar (sort of) bark. It is very easy to tell a chestnut tree from its leaves, but not as easy to distinguish chinese from American (Leaves on American are more serrated than Chinese). You would probably still see nut husks around the trees. critters love 'em.

There are old chestnuts around, but not many. Here in PA, the locations of AC are mapped and reported. Someone at your Forestry service may even know of the tree. Some trees are believed to either be hardier or have not been introduced to the blight due to location or distance from other A.C.

 

[BryanSchamber]

Please get us some pictures. I know you have sparked a lot of interest here. It would indeed be a sight to behold to see a american chestnut of that size left.

 

[michigander]

What state are you in?
If this indeed an American Chestnut, it is a pretty big deal.

I read in another thread, that this tree is in Alabama. I would especially like to see a pic of this tree, with someone standing next to it. 10 foot in diameter, or circumference???:jawdrop:

 

[party_wagon]

I am 6'2 230 lbs. The tree is hollow & has a hole in the bottom I can walk clean into and stand up in the middle of the tree. 10 feet in diameter.