Chestnut Photos (Summer-December, 2003)
by
Joe Schibig unless otherwise indicated
Relatively large American chestnut on Short Mountain in Cannon County, Tennessee (Photos by Clint Neel and Tom Hill, Dec. 2003)
Clint Neel (above photo, left) and Tom Hill (above photo, right) pose next to the largest American chestnut (known to us) on sandstone-based soil in Middle Tennessee, but the largest chestnuts have been found on the deep, cherty, limestone-based soils of the Eastern Highland Rim. This blight-free tree is 6.8 inches in diameter at breast height and stands about 50 feet tall. It is located at the base of a bluff (20 feet high) on Short Mountain, not far from Half Acre, Tennessee. This mountain rises 2092 feet above sea level and is found in the Eastern Highland Rim region but it is geologically an outlier of the Cumberland Plateau region which is to the east. The tree is competing with other hardwood trees, but would probably bloom and fruit if the nearby trees were cut. Floyd Demps (White Co. forester) told Clint about this tree.
Largest of the blight-free American chestnuts in Tennessee? (Photos taken Nov. 20,2003)
To my knowledge, this is the largest American chestnut in Tennessee which appears to be totally free of blight. We do know of two other tall, straight blight-free trees of similar height and slightly smaller diameters in Clay and Sumner Counties, Tennessee (scroll down to see photos of these). The tree pictured here is growing on a sandy but mesic north-facing slope in Weakley County, Tennessee a few miles east of Dresden. This tree is situated on the western edge of its original range in the state and is the only fruiting American chestnut I know of in West Tennessee. The tree has a diameter of 13.6 inches, is 52 feet tall, and is straight as an arrow. I speculate it may be blight free since it appears to be isolated from post oak, scarlet oak, and other chestnuts that might be sources of blight spores. It's tall crown gets its share of sunshine--we estimate it has successfully competed with nearby tulip poplars for about 30 years. This tree produced some burs this year and is a candidate for artificial pollination next year; the site appears to be bucket truck accessible. In the above left photo, proudly posing with the record chestnut are, from left to right, Denney Davidson (forest technician), Bill Turner (a member of The American Chestnut Foundation, TACF), Clois Snyder (timber buyer), and Rick Stutts (area forester). Clois discovered this tree four years ago when he was evaluating timber for the land owner (Bob). The above right photo is similar to the one on the left except Joe Schibig, second from left, replaces Bill Turner who took this photo. Clois recently informed Rick who informed TACF and sent Paul Sisco (Regional TACF Science Coordinator for the Southeastern U. S.) leaf and bur specimens who identified them as Castanea dentata. Paul then informed Bill and me and we converged on the site on the 20th of November, 2003.
Clint and Polly after the harvest (Photos taken in Oct. 2003; photographer unknown)
Clint Neel (TACF activist) and Polly (owner of the property) stand in front of an American chestnut mother tree in Rutherford County.
Recently acquired old photo of dead American chestnut
Though dead, this proud-looking American chestnut stood its ground for years before falling. This was a common scene in the 1940s throughout Tennessee and other parts of the eastern U. S. This big spreading tree was on a hill, appropriately named Chestnut Hill, in northern middle Tennessee. There was a small country school (see photo below) near this site in the early 1900s. I imagine that back then the school children played under this big spreading chestnut and ate its luscious nuts year after year until the blight finally snuffed the life from it. Note the chestnut rail fences below and the shakes on the roofs which may have been made from chestnut. (thanks to Mrs. Shaffer for supplying these fine old photos)
Fruiting chinkapin (photos taken on Oct. 23, 2003)
The Allegheny chinkapin, Castanea pumila, is a shrubby relative of the American chestnut, Castanea dentata. It also has been harmed by the blight but it bounces back after stems are killed with new shoots from the root collar. Because of its shrubby nature, it doesn't have a tall trunk to lose as is the case with the American chestnut. Note one difference between chinkapins and chestnuts is that the former produces just one seed per bur while chestnuts often produce multiple seeds per bur. Chinkapin nuts are eaten readily by many species of wildlife. The chinkapin, pictured here, fruited this fall after being planted last spring. It was pollinated with American chestnut pollen so it will be interesting to see what the F1 hybrids look like.
American chestnut's fall foliage
Left photo taken in Sumner County, Tennesee in Oct. 2002; right photo was made in Sumner Co., Tn. on Oct.22, 2003
A former dendrology student finds tall,
blight-free American chestnut on his property
(photos on Oct. 17 & 23, 2003)
In the photo above, David and his wife, Sharon, stand proudly next to a beautiful American chestnut (height = 50 feet, dbh = 11 inches). After David, who was a student in my Dendrology class 30 years ago, recently discovered this tree by spotting its sharp spiny burs on the ground he gave me a call. I promptly went to his farm in Sumner County, Tennessee and confirmed that he did have a rare fruiting American chestnut. It is very unusual in that it is quite large for an American chestnut and yet it is blight free despite numerous woodpecker holes in its bark (these holes are perfect portals for the entry of blight spores). It is also extraordinary because it is growing on a moist, north-facing slope--all of the large fruiting American chestnuts I have seen in southern Kentucky and middle Tennessee were growing on drier ridges or south to west-facing slopes. The above photo on the right shows a huge sugar maple overtopping the chestnut. A few days after the photo was taken, David cut the big maple and now the chestnut has less competition and plenty of sunlight. In future years, it should produce bountiful crops of nuts since TACF volunteers plan to pollinate this tree starting next June. The photo on the left below is of the crown of the tree after being released from the overtopping maple. The photo below on the right provides a view of the tall straight trunk typical of forest grown American chestnuts.
American Chestnut Harvest in Tennessee (Photos taken in October, 2003)
Bobby Gilliam (photo above) holds several nuts from his American chestnut tree on his farm in Sumner County. The upper right photo shows a close up of 14 nuts from the Gilliam tree; Most of the nuts produced by this isolated tree were duds, but, surprisingly, a total of 35 self-pollinated nuts which appeared full and viable were gathered from this tree. More nut photos are shown below. (Photos taken October 12, 2003)
Glen Christman, the gentle arborist, snips and retrieves bagged nuts from a big American chestnut at Land Between the Lakes (Photos on Oct. 2, 2003).
Perched in the top of the tall chestnut, Glen had an awesome view of Kentucky Lake.
In the upper left photo, Tri County Electric bucket truck operator, J. Driver, pilots the bucket up to the top of the 70 foot tall Clay County tree (upper right photo) for Michael Hill to harvest the bagged nuts. Over 100 seed nuts were obtained from 70 bags placed on this tree. In the bottom photo, Joe Schibig and Michael Hill sit next to an old chestnut post and examine the harvested nuts. (These photos were made on Oct. 3, 2003 by Katie Maiella)
Barbed by the wire (photos on Sept. 11, 2003)
Despite the wire wounds, this tough American chestnut (dbh 7.6
inches) in Clay Co., Tennessee grows vigorously in a fence row along a quiet
country road. This lone tree was loaded with infertile burs and next
year may produce fertile nuts if pollinated by TACF volunteers. The photo
below shows a swollen healed wound (not a blight canker) from wire that
had once wrapped this part of the tree.
Another Exotic pest assaults the American chestnut (Photos taken on Aug. 13)
In June, this tree, at Land Between the Lakes, Ky., had beautiful intact green foliage, but by mid-August the foliage had been ravaged by swarms of gluttonous Japanese beetles. This tree had lost at least 25 % of its leaf material with many of the leaves reduced to vascular skeletons. Despite its many attackers--insects, blight, root rot, deer, plant competitors, etc., the American chestnut still persists, though every year, throughout its former range, its numbers diminish faster than new trees are produced (sexual reproduction through seed production is rare).
Life goes on (photos taken June, 2003)
A relatively large (dbh > 12 inches) but dead American chestnut stem rises above small live sprouts clinging to life on a dry upper south-facing slope in Jackson County, Tennessee. This dead stem was about 30 years old and arose sometime after the former huge chestnut died, which was probably in the 1940s from the blight. There are still remains of the previous chestnut which indicate it had a basal diameter of 6 feet! See photo below of Michael measuring the huge stump. Without a doubt, the American chestnut was the fastest growing and largest tree on the dry slopes and ridges of the Highland Rim of Kentucky and Tennessee. On moist sites, yellow poplar grows about as fast and large, but it is usually absent on the dry sites. Today, dry sites on the Highland Rim, once dominated by American chestnut, are now dominated by such trees as chestnut oak, black oak, scarlet oak, pignut hickory, and red maple. Interestingly, not far from this cluster of chestnuts and on the same ridge is the largest living American chestnut known to me in Tennessee (photos of that tree are found at: http://www2.vscc.cc.tn.us/jschibig/bigchestnuts.htm
