Finding Dozens Of American Chestnut Trees

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[HundedeskriegesWV]

Being a forester and having spent a lifetime in the forest, I have found them as big as 18" in diameter at 4.5 ft. Some are incredibly healthy with no signs of blight one year and totally dead the next when I revisit them. Part of the problem is that Cryphonectria parasitica also hosts in other species such as oaks, and as such is always present. As long as we keep getting a few trees that survive till sexual maturity, there's always hope that one day many many years from now that the species will evolve to survive with the pathogen. In the short term though, the American Chestnut Foundation has done a huge amount of work on backcrossing Chestnut for resistance. If you are interested in being part of it, I encourage you to join your state chapter!

[johnbauby]

I have a dozen growing in my yard. I planted them as chestnut seeds I obtained from the American Chestnut Foundation. Our hope is to one day have a resistant American Chestnut back again

[jesseandersen]

What amazes me about american chestnut is just how valuable it was in many different ways. 100+ ft tall 10+ feet wide with rot resistant wood that splits almost by itself into planks makes it one of the best timber trees. They take much less time to reach sexual maturity than many other nut producing trees, more calories per nut, and more nuts per tree due to the just massive size. The tannin rich bark was used to tan leather, the leaves used to treat coughs, excellent shade trees, the list seems nearly endless. What i wouldnt give to see a 13 foot wide 120 foot tall american chestnut.

[dougzirkle]

On my mushroom forays here in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, I have seen quite a few American chestnut in the same stages of growth that you found…old stumps of trees with new growth, may 10’ to 15’ in height. The one you found was the biggest I’ve seen in my 74 years. Thanks for sharing, Adam!!

[richardbernard]

It was so encouraging to see living Chestnut trees, making a comeback of sorts.
Thank you Adam for brightening our morning:-)

[squirrelgunsmith]

One late summer day about 60 years ago my father took me fishing at a creek in Jefferson County GA. The water was orange colored from "red" clay and we did catch a mess of speckled catfish. That day was the first chestnut tree I had ever seen. It was growing on the bank of the low bluff over the creek. My Daddy told me it was a chestnut and that you didn't see them much anymore. This tree was over 2 feet in diameter and part of the roots had been washed out by cresting water at some point a long time before we were there. The canopy was huge and rose above all the other trees. There were nuts on the ground, so we picked up some. Daddy said not to eat any and when we got home, he put them in Big Mama's (my grandmother) oven to "roast". Something about we shouldn't eat them raw?? Anyway, they were good next to the fried catfish and sliced tomatoes, grits and hushpuppies.

[JJLom]

Contact the right folk to get those trees cloned! If they're resisting the blight, they're very important.
Thanks for all you do,
JJ

[thomasballentine]

About 4 to 5 years ago I came across a healthy 4 to 5 inch DBH American Chestnut on the Cove Mountain Trail in the Smoky Mountains National Park. It was about half way down from the Laurel Falls Trail junction to the Sugarlands Visitor Center. It was the first tree sized American Chestnut that I had ever observed in the Smokies or North Georgia mountains. That really brightened my day.

[ericwanderweg]

We still have sizable sporadic groves of them here in Connecticut. I’ve been harvesting burs and growing them for a few years now.

[CliftonHicksbanjo]

It's true. They're out there. Find them and grow their seedlings.

[kenjohnson]

I was surprised to find Chestnut and American Elm on our property in mid Il. I also had the pleasure of seeing the largest grove of Paw Paws of over 1500 trees in one area that iv'e ever seen. Again in mid Il.

[sethwaggoner]

As a native Pennsylvanian, it thrilled me to see you finding living, healthy chestnut trees in the keystone state! It is still heart-wrenching to think of the chestnut blight that was sprung by one man's greed. Anyway, this was encouraging!

[elliskinney]

Northern Kentucky, I have a farm with about 30 acres of woods. I have cleared a couple of areas where large trees have died and planted Chestnuts from a nursery in Alabama. All have survived so far, second season and about three ft. tall. I have cages around all of them and sprinkle with seven dust and water once/week when necessary. Thanks for the video. Ellis

[KeefsCattys]

I hope these larger specimen trees may be more resistant to the fungus . We need these trees to come back . Great video and best wishes from Scotland . We have our own disease problems with multiple species here too . Best wishes

[mslif]

Thank you, Adam. I know that scientists are trying to come up with blite resistant American Chestnut trees, but wouldn't it be fantastic if nature solved the problem by itself. Thank you again for helping me to, well let's call it, learn about the land.

[sapelesteve]

Really nice seeing those Chestnut trees Adam. Hope that they continue to thrive and remain part of the forest landscape. 👍👍🌲🌲

[mikeh]

I remember in the '60's, in Manhattan, there were lots of street carts selling steamed chestnuts. My father would always get a bag and we would share them. By the time the '70's came, all of those carts were gone. I went to Tuscany in Italy about 15 years ago and I found the same little carts selling hot chestnuts. It was a real treat to get a bag and step back in time with the experience.

[jean-francoislaroche]

Nice to see it ! In Québec, many of our trees are faced with illness, fungus or pest problems : elms (since more than a century), ashes (since a few years, but severely, by ash borers) beeches, butternuts, ashes. Trying to introduce black walnut and bur oak into my countryside.

[karlsteingall]

Great video Adam, you are a wealth of knowledge and insight! Truly a master of your craft!

[truthfulpenguin]

Delaware here. I just found an American Chestnut in a State Forest earlier today, and this video is convincing me to go back out and see if I can find any more.