American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Buncombe Co., NC 8 July 2006
Formerly a dominant tree of eastern U.S. forests, now large trees are very rare. Most mature American Chestnut trees have been killed by the tragic accidental introduction of Chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) from Asia.
American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Jackson Co., NC 14 May 2006
Leaves have fairly long and distinct teeth.
American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Buncombe Co., NC 8 July 2006
Nuts are produced in spiny-shelled husks, which are very sharp!
American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Buncombe Co., NC 8 July 2006
Bark shows fissures and flat ridges on older trees. This individual is one of the few trees over 40 feet tall that still remain in NC. Most individuals survive only as stump sprouts throughout the NC mountains and sporadically in the piedmont.
Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Common names from personal experience and supplemented by the following resources USDA plants website, Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and NatureServe.
