Welcome to the Chestnut Tree site. Here you will find information about and pictures of Chestnut trees. Learn about the blight that destroyed an American heritage tree and the hope of restoring the American Chestnut Tree to it's former glory. The Chestnut Tree provided our ancestors with many blessings, soon those blessings will be restored thanks to the work of many people working toward the goal of restoring the Chestnut Tree.
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Chestnut trees are of the Castanea species, there are several types of chestnut tree. Chinese Chestnut--Castanea mollissima American Chestnut--Castanea dentata Japanese Chestnut--Castanea crenata European (Spanish) Chestnut--Castanea sativa Allegheny Chinkapin (Chinquapin)--Castanea pumila Some common trees mistaken for the Chestnut tree. chestnut oak-- Fagaceae Quercus prinus American Beech-- Fagus grandifolia Horse chestnut--( Buckeye) Aesculus hippocastanum How to tell from the leaf what kind of tree it is. The American Chestnut tree. The fall of a giant. The American Chestnut tree could grow to ten feet in diameter and 100 feet tall and could live to be 600 years old. It provided food, shelter, beauty and income for many people in the Appalachians. The American Chestnut is 19% fiber, 10% protein, 10% fat, 40% Carbohydrates and has 70 calories per ounce. It takes 14-40 nuts to make a pound depending on size of the nut. They were 1/4 of the hardwood trees that covered nine million acres in the eastern forests of the US. It is a light weight hardwood easy to work with. The chestnuts could be eaten, fed to livestock and train loads of them were sent to big cities where street vendors sold them fresh roasted. When in bloom they gave the Appalachian mountains the look of being covered in snow across the top of the ridges. In 1904 an Asian fungus was discovered as the blight that destroyed this American treasure. By 1950 an estimated 4 billion American chestnut trees were destroyed by the blight imported to the US on Asian chestnut trees. The fungus dispersed spores that found their way into a fresh injury in the tree's bark and spreads killing tissue as it advances until the flow of nutrients is completely choked off killing the tree. In 1983 The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) was established. Their goal is to backcross breed the American chestnut tree with the blight resistant Chinese chestnut tree. First they are crossed together making a hybrid tree that is 50% American chestnut and 50% Chinese chestnut, to introduce the blight resistant properties of the Chinese chestnut tree to the American chestnut tree. Then they backcross the hybrid tree back to the American Chestnut tree. Over many tree generations they hope to have an American Chestnut that has only one characteristic of the Chinese Chestnut, that is the blight resistant property. You can compare the two trees and learn more about the TACF here. and Here Another group dedicated to restoring the American Chestnut trees is the American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation, ACCF. Learn what they are doing to help the American Chestnut tree here NNGA-- Northern Nut Growers Association, Identification of American Chestnut Trees Growing Chestnut Trees and why NNGA
Chestnut Lore, is a collection of heartwarming memories recalled from a time not long ago when American chestnut trees were a rich part of growing up in the in the Eastern US. Read how chestnuts dropping onto a tin roof was like music to young ears and how the chestnut tree helps us to understand the Biblical truth of how tragedy might nearly destroy us but it is possible to be raised up again. Read about a time when the fire-place was where the family gathered to talk about their day and dreams of the future were born while watching flames dancing in ever changing color. Read about a young boys first money earned was from picking up chestnuts he could sell for $5-8 dollars a bushel. Click on this link Chestnut Lore to read about these memories and more from times past. American - Chinese - Japanese - European compare the nuts from these four kinds of Chestnut tree. Guidelines for handling & storage of Chestnuts
This background page will help you get started in identifying your trees. Here's a great site that will walk you through identifying your trees. Tree ID- University of Michigan Extension, this site gives you several ways to identify trees National Arbor Day Foundation tree guide Ohio trees index Inter active animation that teaches you how to identify trees. This is fun they give you a mystery tree and walk you thorough how to identify it. Here's another helpful site- University of Illinois Here's another tree key site to help you learn how to identify your trees.
235 Chestnut recipes! CGI Chestnut Recipes
Chestnut Beer it tastes like fall MFB article Chestnuts are low in fat and calories, they make a great Chestnut flour that makes a tasty alternative to wheat flour with those who are allergic to wheat flour.
Ozark Chinquapin Foundation What happened to Chinquapins. How to tell a Chinquapin Tree from other trees. Growing Chinquapins from seed. Learning with Charlie Chestnut Picture before the blight culture Field Guide for locating, pollinating, and harvesting Chestnuts Resurrecting the American chestnut by Joe Schibig, Biology Professor, Volunteer State Community College Mother Earth News--A Handbook for Autumn's Nut's The Nature Conservancy helping to restore the Chinquapin Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory Ozark Chinquapin
Chestnuts should not be roasted until one or two holes have been punctured in each shell, steam pressure can explode the nut, the safest method is to use a long handled covered utensil.
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