Castanea
This group of hardy, deciduous trees is found growing from Maine to Michigan, south to Deleware, Tennessee, along the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and Alabama. They are commonly known as Chestnut trees. C. dentata, the American Chestnut, was valued for the production of its large edible nuts and for its wood, which is light, soft and moderately strong, but very durable when in contact with the ground; it was often used for posts, poles, railroad ties, interior finish, etc.
The bark is rich in tannic acid and was widely used by tanneries. The leaves of the American Chestnut are simple, alternate, lance-shaped with pointed bases. They grow from 5 to 8 inches long and 2 or 3 inches across. The edges are regularly and coarsely serrated. They are dull yellowish-green above and paler and smooth beneath. The fruits, when present, are round, prickly burs, 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Inside are 2 or 3 egg-shaped nuts that are flat on one side. They are shiny brown and pale downy towards the tops. This was one of the most important trees in the world, however, in 1906, a blight caused by a fungus, Endothia parasitica, was introduced along the Atlantic shore. It caused a disastrous bark disease in the Chestnuts and it spread unrestrained throughout the forests of the east because the spores were carried by the wind from tree to tree. Only a small percentage of the billions of trees growing then are still alive. However, the blight doesn't kill the tree roots, so they usually send up new shoots after the tree is dead. The fungus doesn't attack the trees until the bark begins to fissure; they ordinarily make it up to 30-foot high before they succumb to the disease, but rarely do they live long enough to produce flowers and fruit. These trees used to grow to massive sizes; easily up to a 100 feet with a diameter of 4 feet. The near extinction of this tree was a severe economic blow since the turn of the century. Hybridists are making crosses between the native and the blight-resistant Chinese and Japanese Chestnuts. Several named varieties are in cultivation. Research is also being done in a virus that cripples the disease. There is hope that the American Chestnut will again be a valuable nut-producing tree in the area where it once flourished in the wild. Pot CultivationThese trees grow on any well-drained soil. PropagationSeeds should be sown as soon as they are ripe, if possible, in the fall. Plant them outdoors in drills an inch deep. If sowing can't be done in the fall, the nuts should be stored in sand until spring. Named commercial fruiting varieties should be grafted in the spring on seedling trees.
Varieties
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