The way they were before the blight. The big chestnut trees to the left appear to have had basal diameters in excess of five feet. This was not terribly unusual for chestnuts growing in the virgin forests of the Appalachian Mountains before the infamous blight struck.  To the right is a wonderful photo of a magnificent American chestnut currently thriving near La Crosse, Wisconsin.  It was planted along with several others by a local farmer in 1909 and in less than 100 years attained a diameter of 58 inches. This is the state record for Wisconsin and is one of the largest American chestnuts to be found east of the Rocky Mountains. Some say the seed came from Pennsylvania while others believe they came from Virginia.  The original grove produced thousands of seeds which were dispersed by squirrels to eventually cover an area of about 36 hectares (90 acres) with thousands of trees!   This disjunct stand of American chestnuts in Wisconsin has been free from the blight due to its isolation until recently, but now these trees are in jeopardy. TACF workers have inoculated affected trees with hypovirulent strains of the blight fungus hoping to contain the spread of the virulent blight.
Left photo courtesy of the ACCF:  http://www.accf-online.org;  right photo (fall, 2002) submitted by Paul Sisco, Regional Science Coordinator, TACF:  www.acf.org

To see more photos of the big Wisconsin tree go to: http://www2.vscc.cc.tn.us/jschibig/Laststand.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the largest American chestnut trees still alive in the eastern U. S. is located in Amherst County, Virginia.  The large diameter of the tree is indicated in the photo on the left by the presence of two American chestnut experts, John Elkins (left) and Bruce Givens (right); this photo was made in May, 1980. The 1989 photo on the right shows the spreading crown of the tree, typical of chestnut trees growing in an open field. Dr. Fred Hebard (a TACF plant pathologist) submitted these photos and indicated that some parts of the crown had died in the last 25 years, perhaps mostly from  prolonged periods of drought.  Lucille Griffin, executive director of the ACCF, reported that a very large limb was cut off by someone; of course, a large open wound of this sort invites the entry of pathogens.   Dr. Hebard and Virginia Tech. plant pathologist, Dr. Gary Griffin, maintain that the tree has attained such a large size and has survived so long because it has been infected with a hypovirulent strain or strains of Cryphonectria, has a low level of resistance to the blight, and is growing on a favorable site.  For more information on these three factors refer to:
Griffin, G. J.  2000.   Blight Control and Restoration of the American Chestnut. Journal of Forestry.  February, 98 (2): 22-27.

 

Old battle-scarred American chestnut in Adair County, Kentucky; dbh 38 inches, height 45 feet; see article in link to "Large" Chestnuts on the Highland Rim.  Photo by author, Jan. 15, 2002

 

A recently discovered American chestnut (14.4 inches dbh, 60 ft. tall) in Monroe Co., Ky.
See article at:  http://www2.vscc.cc.tn.us/jschibig/toughsurvivorsonthehighland.htm.  Photo by Joe Schibig (2002)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The largest American chestnut we have found thus far in Tennessee is located on an upper south-facing slope in Jackson County Tennessee. Swellings on the trunk indicate this tree has fought off the blight numerous times.  We guesstimate this tree to be around 60 years old.

 


The third largest American chestnut (10.5 in. dbh, 50 ft. tall) in Middle Tennessee, known to me, lives on a ridge in Clay County.  For more information and photos go to:  http://www2.vscc.cc.tn.us/jschibig/toughsurvivorsonthehighland.htm
Photo by Joe Schibig

 

Eric Hogan (graduate student at Virginia Tech.) by a resistant grafted American chestnut that has been fruiting since 1989;  It had a diameter at breast height (dbh) of 15.7 inches.  Located in the Lesesne State Forest in Virginia.  Arrow points to healed superficial canker.  This tree was inoculated a few years after grafting with hypovirulent Cryphonectria which has helped to protect this tree from the virulent blight fungi prevalent on untreated sprouts in the area.  This photo taken in 2000 is from the ACCF.

Gary Griffin inspecting a benign canker on an American chestnut at Lesesne State Forest, Virginia.  ACCF 2001 photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A very large chestnut presumed to be a pure American in Cameron County, Pennsylvania  (dbh > 17 inches).  From Len:  http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/castanea/Cameron.html

A large flowering chestnut (presumably American) in Pennsylvania. From Len:  http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/castanea/Misc.html

 

For a picture of the largest American chestnut tree in Canada go to: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~chestnut/novascotia.htm

 

To see a picture of the largest American chestnut in the U. S., find M. F. Cochran's article, Back from the Brink Chestnuts, National Geographic Magazine, 1990, volume 177, no. 2, pages 128-140

 

A giant decay-resistant chestnut slowly returning its molecules to the soil in Warren County, Tennessee. It has probably been lying on the forest floor since the 1930s.  
From Dr. Hill Craddock:  http://www.utc.edu/~jcraddoc/chestnutlinks.html

 

     

Doug Snyder and son Jason by a 50-yr. old chestnut in Middle Tennessee, not a pure American, but probably a hybrid (largest stem dbh 13.4 in., ht. 40-50 ft; on old abandoned home site, planted 50 years ago; has form and leaves similar to American chestnut but sparse stellate hairs on the leaf undersurfaces and rounded nut apex and bur characters indicate it is not a pure American.  Stem at arrow tip is the healthiest of the three trunks, but note swollen places (old cankers).  When chestnut trees of this size are found, they often are Asiatic chestnuts or hybrids;  finding a pure American chestnut this large would be like finding a rusty needle in a spacious hayfield.   Photo by author, Nov. 2001
 

 

Back to Main Page