The American Chestnut

The American Chestnut once was a significant member of the forests in the Eastern United States. A mature American Chestnut tree would stand 80 - 100 feet tall and be 5 feet in diameter. Today there are few serving large trees because of the introduction of chestnut blight from Asia in the late 1890's. Many of the stomps left in the forests send up sprouts, but before the sprouts get of any size they get infected with blight and die.

There are a number of organizations working to preserve the American Chestnut. One of the leading organizations is The American Chestnut Foundation. Their goal is to introduce the gene in some Chinese chestnut trees to provide resistance to the chestnut blight while keeping the physical characteristics of the tree and nut. The Georgia Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation has a great write up of how things were before the American chestnut trees died off. The good news is that the research into developing a blight resistant chestnut tree is nearly complete and trials have been in fields for the past 6 years. Another 5-10 years may be required before the release of a hybrid American chestnut that is resistant to blight. (Note - the chestnut variety known as "Sleeping Giant" is a cross between Chinese, Japanese, and American chestnut trees)