There is at least one sizable chestnut tree of reproductive age in this mixed stand dominated by oaks. (reproductive American chestnuts are very rare due to Chestnut Blight). The American Chestnut Society has collected material from this tree due to its possible partial resistance to chestnut blight.
Healthy tree covered in Chestnuts. Not that young, bark looked quite old. Beside a dam on Pattaconk Pond. The chestnuts were superbly camoflauged, the exact colour of the leaves and not visible until you were right up beside them. Very prickly.
A number of young American Chestnuts grow on the Appalachian Trail at Rocky Gap. (Southbound from VA-601). None are very old or large enough to participate in the breeding program for the American Chestnut Foundation.
The American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) is a large, deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. Before the species was devastated by the chestnut blight, a fungal disease, it was one of the most important forest trees throughout its range. There are now very few mature specimens of the tree within its historical range, although many small sprouts of the former live trees remain. However, there are (at least) hundreds of large (2...
