First monster
American chestnut on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee
Photos by Joe Schibig and
Lloyd Fly, Oct. 30, 2006
Of the 700 +
American chestnut trees we have inventoried on the Cumberland Plateau,
this chestnut (16 inches in diameter and 60 feet in height) is the largest by
far. It appears
healthy despite some blight at the base. The tree is in the Catoosa
Wildlife Management
Area in Cumberland County, and is bucket truck accessible on a logging road; we
intend
to pollinate this big tree next summer.
From the left,
William Webb, Lloyd Fly, Mark Vance, and Butch Webb pose by the tree.
Butch, a local logger, discovered the tree by stepping on one of its burs, and
then reported
this extraordinary find to The American Chestnut Foundation.
Joe Schibig
(left), a chestnut researcher/pollinator and biology professor at
Volunteer State Community College, will direct the pollination of this tree
in June, 2007.
We were able to
find about 10 plump nuts on the ground--no doubt squirrels, chipmunks,
and other wildlife had already taken the lion's share. There probably is
at least one more
chestnut tree somewhere in the vicinity, because nut production requires a
second
chestnut tree for cross pollination.
