The American Chestnut Castanea dentata “Emperor of the Forest” “Redwood of the East” “King of Trees” “Farmer’s Friend”

The American Chestnut is the 3rd-largest tree in North America. It is the fastest-growing native tree in North America. It regrows without being replanted after logging. New sprouts grow from the stump. It is our best native hardwood for woodworking and construction. Tough, water-resistant, rot-resistant and easy to grow. It is valuable as a food species for wildlife.

American chestnut is valuable as firewood. Valuable food crop for humans. “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” Per tree, produces more food for wildlife than any other tree species in the eastern U.S. At one time, 1 out of every 4 trees in its range were American chestnuts. It blooms late (June), so it is unaffected by late freezes (unlike oaks) and reliably produces nuts.

The sharply toothed leaves of American chestnut

The nuts and burs of the American chestnut

Catkins (flowers) on an American chestnut tree in June. Settlers used to say the mountains looked covered in snow when the Chestnuts bloomed in June.

Range of the American chestnut.

Where are they now?

The planting of a few exotic chestnut trees (possibly the Japanese chestnut, C. crenata) in or near New York City shortly before 1904 quickly proved to have been one of the most tragic mistakes of the century. No one considered the potential hazards of exotic imports and the parasites which they may host. One or more of those trees hosted the most efficient specific tree destroyer known to plant pathologists anywhere in the world.

In the first 40 years of the 20th century, a blight (plant disease) destroyed 3.5 billion+ American chestnuts. No comparable devastation of a species exists in recorded history.

Endothia parasitica has virtually wiped out the American chestnut. In 1978, it was renamed, Cryphonectria parasitica.

Picture of Cryphonectria parasitica (chestnut blight fungus) on a young American chestnut tree.

The wood is very resistant to decay The wood is very resistant to decay. In the mountains it's still easy to find logs of medium-large trees (such as this one) that died in the 1930s-1940s.

“The Holy Grail” Discovering a stand of mature chestnut-producing American Chestnut Trees in the forest. They would have to be resistant to the blight. They could be used to repopulate the eastern deciduous forest.

New Hope for the American Chestnut "It is not beyond the grasp of science to restore the American chestnut to economic importance. It could be accomplished within the next 50 years. " -- Prof. Gary Griffin, Virginia Tech As of April 2007, American chestnut cooperators have planted 117,792 seedlings and 59,628 seednuts from our all-American orchards.