American Chestnut tree

[shades of blue]

There has been a stand of American Chestnut trees found near Warm Springs in the Southern Appalachians. The American Chestnut trees have been all but wiped out in the US by a blight that was discovered in the early 1900's. You can see the trees on the ground, especially as you hike north. I thought this was pretty cool.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060518/ap_on_sc/chestnut_discovery

[Retsuzen]

WOW this is great now there is hope that the trail may be able to slowly grow back to its original state as it was in the beginning many years ago. If anything it really protects the AT in its own way since nooone will be able to touch these trees after they are deemed an endangered species.

[Tractor]

We just "discovered" one near here after we researched those spiney nut pouches. Have no clue why it's alive and well where it stands. I am told many of the old split rail fences are of Chestnut. Long lasting they are/were.

[ed bell]

Thanks for the link. This is really good news. Getting the Chestnuts back would be a real step foreward for our forests here in the East.:sun

[Spock]

When you know what they look like, you can find chestnuts all along the AT. There are several north of Fontana Dam, for example. The blight does not kill the roots, so new trees keep trying to come up from the old roots. They may last long enough to produce nuts before the blight zaps them again. The only hope is to breed a blight resistant chestnut, and this is a major project today in the U.S.

[shades of blue]

One of the neat things about this find (as far as I can tell) is the size and number of the trees. They are 30 to 40 years old, which means for some reason the blight didn't get them. Perhaps it is where they are at, but maybe this is a start. It always depressed me to see all the dead trees. The pines that are dying in the smokys depress me too. It makes me wonder what things looked like 100 years or so ago. I don't think this find is the cure all for the American Chestnut, but still, it's great that so many "older" ones were found in one place.

[blitz134]

Interesting...I live in Thomaston, Ga which is about 30 minutes to the east of Warm Springs. I'd like to go out and have a look at these at some point. I have seen tons of pictures of these gigantic trees back in the day and just look in amazement...

There is a fairly good size chestnut tree in town though. I'm not sure if it is the American variety or not, I'll have to go and take a look. I have seen others in town as well, but haven't been back in that particular area to see if it is still around. I'll have to check it out next weekend.

[the goat]

i heard nathan on npr tonight. what a find....he talked a/b how they will try to use genes from this stand of trees to possibly produce a more blight-resistant variety.

[Dances with Mice]

ALBANY, Ga. - A stand of American chestnut trees that somehow escaped a blight that killed off nearly all their kind in the early 1900s has been discovered along a hiking trail not far from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House at Warm Springs.
(...snip...)
<SNIP>
The largest of the half-dozen or so trees is about 40 feet tall and 20 to 30 years old, and is believed to be the southernmost American chestnut discovered so far that is capable of flowering and producing nuts.
<SNIP>
(...snip...)
"FDR may have roasted some chestnuts on his fire for Christmas or enjoyed their blooms in the spring," Klaus said.