Here you see a towering American chestnut on a very steep bluff overlooking Kentucky Lake.  This healthy tree must have good genes to be flourishing on such dry nutrient-poor soil and to withstand the competition from neighboring trees. Its brown pincushion-like burs have fallen but the the nuts (below) were infertile.  Tree photos by Joe Schibig (summer, 2002);  Fruits (fall, 2002) of this tree photographed by John Donahue.