Oddbean

I found an American Chestnut sapling 🥹 These are very rare! A Japanese blight killed most of these majestic trees 100+ years ago. These once dominated Appalachian forests and American culture. Sadly, most saplings never reach adulthood anymore. Some say this is one of the most devastating ecological disasters of modern times. https://i.nostr.build/FqhFp42c4fkzNoTj.jpg https://i.nostr.build/5EGNtVDFD3OfCSfH.jpg nostr:nevent1qqs8r7v2mwwnx2p2p3tzpqfqkwzxrz5h6sa0z8y3s74p3l9swlltswcpzemhxue69uhkummnw3ex2mrfw3jhxtn0wfnj7q3q8ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqxpqqqqqqzgjpwz6

I assumed from an old root system. I didn't explore enough to see if a larger mother tree was around. I will do this in two weeks. I can't next weekend, but the following I'm free. It's a long ass hike, but I remember where this is, plus GPS on the photo 😅

You can (and should) report the finding to the PA chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation. https://patacf.org/ There is a significant amount of research and work happening at PSU regarding this species, to the point that their hybridization efforts with the Chinese chestnut are at a point where DNA testing is usually required to determine American vs hybridized chestnuts. We ordered some trees through the Ten Million trees initiative with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation a few years ago, but just prior to delivery we were told they tested as hybrids despite advertising as American. We planted them anyway. I hope to one day plant American chestnuts on our farm for my kids, but that's still a few years away from being commercially available (last I checked). Finding chestnuts in the wild, even hybrid, is a rare and awesome experience! Anyone interested, especially local to PA should sign up for the PA chapter newsletter to follow their work.

I've seen Chinese Chestnut before, there's actually a lot of them where I run, but I don't believe I've seen a hybrid before and this could be one, but due to its size and leaf characteristics, I'm fairly confident it's American. This is a good idea! Maybe I will report it. I had a friend years ago that found a much larger one and did report it. PSU came down and tested it and did determine it was pure American, growing from an old root system!

Scientists have been trying to genetically cross breed the American Chestnut with the Chinese Chestnut that has an immunity and to the blight. But it needs to be done in a way to not change the tree too much as the two species are very different. Some do exist in the wild. There's a grove of 600-800 trees in Michigan I believe and there's also a project working on immunity in Eastern PA. More info. https://tacf.org/

We had one in our yard when I was a kid. in the fall would give the beautiful chestnut nuts, but in the summer, the tree was the most unbelievably beautiful shade tree. It created a perfect umbrella shade area that was better than any shade tree I’ve ever seen. I haven’t been back there in 30 years and wonder what happened to that tree.

I thought they were declared illegal and forcefully destroyed, but I wasn't there. Growing up in the 60s/70s my neighbor had one that apparently survived the "blight" or emerged after. It was old and since died so I suspect it survived rather than emerged.

Some can survive. It's just a rarity. We had two of them in my town when I was a kid. I used to walk to them with my grandfather and collect chestnuts. They were full grown adult trees. I think they died at some point in the 90s. I also think somehow in Michigan there's a grove of 600-800 of them. But this is down from the 4 billion that used to exist. 🥹