Chestnut anyone?

       Castanea dentata

   Would you like it raw or roasted?

WELCOME! I'm glad you decided to stop by! This site is dedicated to the legacy of the American Chestnut tree, which are ecologically extinct in present day. It is designed to give you a taste of Castanea dentata and quite possibly a little knowledge, too.  Oh, and if I were you, I'd choose roasted...

Chestnut seeds within spiny hull <http://home13.inet.tele.dk/kernehus/chestnut-gb.html>

Castanea dentata was the most abundant large tree in the Eastern United States' forests at the beginning of the 20th century, comprising what is estimated to be about twenty-five percent of all hardwoods.  On optimal sites, the fast-growing species was capable of reaching heights of over 100 feet with a trunk diameter of up to six feet.  However, a devastating fungus pathogen virtually wiped out the species by 1950, to what some ecologists termed "the greatest botanical disaster in history."  Therefore, what once was one of the dominant canopy trees in Eastern forests, now exist mainly as a shrub or small tree.

 

Below is the breakdown of tree components utilized for identification of the American chestnut tree.  Although the species is not as prosperous as it was a century ago, some areas are still fortunate enough to experience these mature specimens.

 

 

Chestnut tree leaf <http://www.salisbury.edu/arboretum/Castane/CaDe/CaDeHM.html>

LEAF:

 

 

 

 

 

Chestnut flower <http://tomvolkfungi.net/>

FLOWER:

                    

 

 

 

FRUIT:

Chestnut husk <http://www.salisbury.edu/arboretum/Castane/CaDe/CaDeHM.html>Chestnut seed diagram <http://www.plants.usda.gov/java/imageGallery?category=sciname&txtparm=Castanea&familycategory=all&growthhabit=all&duration=all&origin=all&wetland=all&imagetype=all&artist=all&copyright=all&location=all&stateSelect=all&cite=all&viewsort=25&sort=sciname>

Chestnut <http://plants.usda.gov/gallery/standard/cade12_002_shp.jpg>

 

 

 

Chestnut bark <http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/18/bigtrees/bigtrees08/chestnut_American08_Erie.jpg>

BARK:

Young chestnut bark <http://www.salisbury.edu/arboretum/Castane/CaDe/CaDeHM.html>

 

Continue on to the phylogeny of Castanea dentata...don't worry, Latin is quite easy to understand.

 

Feel free to check out other students' pages as well as our University's website below:

MultipleOrganisms.net

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse