Chestnut?

[dabjrnl]

I saw these saplings on the south side of Camp Creek Bald just to the west side of the Trail. I thought they may be Chestnut saplings. There were quite a few in this area. Is that what they are?

[emerald]

I believe you may have seen American chestnuts. How large were they? Any burs from last season on the ground?

You can use the search feature to find all sorts of information and links. We've accumulated quite a bit of information related to chestnuts.

[MintakaCat]

Could be an Americain Chestnut tree. I've heard that they can get about 30 feet tall before the blight gets them. There is a blight resistant tree that is coming. I think it's 15/16 Americain Chestnut and 1/16 Chinese Chestnut, or something to that effect.

[bigcranky]

Lots of chestnut saplings in the Southern US. They eventually get the blight and die. Sorry.

[dabjrnl]

I didn't see any burrs. I guess they are not mature enough. I read about the backcrossing attempts of the TACF. It sounds very promising. I guess we'll know in about 10 years. I'd love to plant some seedlings in my area when they become available.

[emerald]

I didn't see any burs. I guess they are not mature enough.

I've seen a number of American chestnuts trees which produced nuts here in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, I was always too late to obtain any nuts and the trees didn't survive beyond a year or two of fruiting.

[mississippi_dan]

an American chestnut. They are more common in the southern mountains than most people think. Most can be found above 3,000 feet. I have seen them along the trail in North Carolina and Tennessee. They typically get about 30 feet tall or so. Often have sprouts from the base tree. The main trunk will likely have orange fungus from the chestnut blight. Burrs are less common.
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=21

Dan

[emerald]

It's an excellent resource and one which WhiteBlazers should keep in mind when questions like this one arise. USDA Plants Database and the more technical but more comprehensive Flora of North America are two others.

[vamelungeon]

There are still a few very old and very big American chestnut trees that didn't get blight and a lot of research has gone into figuring out WHY. The loss of our chestnut trees had a profound effect on our hardwood forests. I hope I live long enough to see them become common again.

[MOWGLI]

I saw these saplings on the south side of Camp Creek Bald just to the west side of the Trail. I thought they may be Chestnut saplings. There were quite a few in this area. Is that what they are?

That's an American Chestnut. Saw one about 3" in diameter and about 20' tall in the Big Frog Wilderness last week. Looked very healthy. No sign of blight. For now.

[Pedaling Fool]

They'll make a comeback.

One of my favorite trees is the Live Oak http://forestry.about.com/od/forestphotogalleries/ig/The-Majestic-Live-Oak/

There are some around here that are about 80 ft in height, but over a 100 ft in diameter (the foliage). Very creepy looking with how all the branches sprawl outward like the arms of an octopus. And the spanish moss just adds to that. Photos don't do them justice, just too big to capture. I planted one in my yard ~20 years ago and now it makes a great shade tree.

[rhjanes]

I planted one in my yard ~20 years ago and now it makes a great shade tree.
I planted a Live oak in our front yard about 20 years ago also! Might be 21 now. It OWNS that front yard. Half the grass, died because there is ZERO light getting to the ground. Our kids climb it. It is one healthy and huge tree. Biggest complaint is that it drops leaves twice a year. It is almost as large as the "regular" oaks in the back yard, which are probably 50 to 75 years old.

[Pedaling Fool]

I planted a Live oak in our front yard about 20 years ago also! Might be 21 now. It OWNS that front yard. Half the grass, died because there is ZERO light getting to the ground. Our kids climb it. It is one healthy and huge tree. Biggest complaint is that it drops leaves twice a year. It is almost as large as the "regular" oaks in the back yard, which are probably 50 to 75 years old.
Yes they do need some space to grow, as for the grass I'm changing my landscape to get away from grass (a different type of groundcover) there are some really good shade plants that can add much color to the shaded area. I throw the leaves into my compost pile.

Some pretty shade plants; a lot of possibilities: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13984968@N02/3558143983/

[Hoop]

john gault,

The Treaty Oak in Jacksonville is one heck of a live oak specimen.

[Pedaling Fool]

john gault,

The Treaty Oak in Jacksonville is one heck of a live oak specimen.
Yes that is a very cool tree http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_Oak_(Jacksonville,_Florida), I'm about 20 miles from it, but have ones just as big I pass as I ride my bike to the gym.

P.S. I see you're from Waycross, I've ridden my bike through there a few times on my bike tours.

[TIDE-HSV]

I don't think anyone's mentioned it yet, but, usually, you'll find the saplings right beside a downed chestnut log. Those logs last forever...!

[Pedaling Fool]

I don't think anyone's mentioned it yet, but, usually, you'll find the saplings right beside a downed chestnut log. Those logs last forever...!
I had a six foot Hibiscus plant that died last winter (unusually cold here in Jax last year). I cut it down and left the stump and now I got a new Hibiscus growing in from the root system, it's over a foot tall now.

I didn't expect that.

[veteran]

Rare American chestnut tree discovered in Sandusky marsh

http://media.ohio.com/images/Rare+Tree_DeMa.jpg



Article from Ohio.com in PDF (http://www.acf.org/pdfs/news/2008/OhioTree.pdf)

It's difficult to tell the age of the 89-foot American chestnut growing in Sheldon's Marsh east of Sandusky without cutting it down. Biologists estimate it's about 80 years old and remains a survivor of a fungal blight that eliminated nearly every chestnut in the country in the first half of the 20th century.
( ODNR )

[Lauriep]

From the photo, I would say it is definitely a chestnut, and very probably an American chestnut.

There are many saplings along the A.T. You may be aware that in 1999 a thru-hiker, Eric Weise, counted over 40,000 chestnuts on the A.T. (within sight of the Trail). The American Chestnut Foundation (http://www.acf.org), the Potomac A.T. Club, and ATC partnered to count chestnuts on the A.T. in PATC's territory last year. I volunteered to take two sections in WV/VA. Since I'd been trained, I then counted American chestnuts (with help from my husband and Peter Pan) on my section-hikes in New Jersey and GA/NC later that year. Once you start counting them, you see how abundant the small trees are. Trees more than a few inches in diameter are pretty rare. In over 150 miles of counting, we found only 7 or 8 trees more than 25 inches in circumference.

Finding large chestnut trees on the A.T., though, has possibly been the most thrilling experience I've had on the A.T. since my thru-hike. And to think I walked by them once before, not knowing they were there.

Laurie P.

[High Life]

there a big one in catawba,VA right at the home place .. i couldnt beleive it when i saw the burs all over the parking lot .. i didnt even know what it was ...

[emerald]

Likely a Chinese chestnut given the location the quantity of burs you mentioned.

[Pedaling Fool]

I had a six foot Hibiscus plant that died last winter (unusually cold here in Jax last year -- winter of 2008). I cut it down and left the stump and now I got a new Hibiscus growing in from the root system, it's over a foot tall now.

I didn't expect that.
That "foot tall" hibiscus died during the cold-snap of 2009/2010 - it reached a height of about 4 feet; covering it didn't help. Hopefully another one grows from the rootball.

Here's a pic of it from my gallery

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/6/9/3/6/hibiscus_9-18-09_002.jpg (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=36458&original=1&c=member&imageuser=6936)

[Slack-jawed Trog]

dabjrnl,

Yep, that's a chestnut.
I was lucky enough to find a 30+ footer this summer, with burrs, here in CT. I've seen a couple of Chinese Chestnuts, their burrs and fruit, and from what I saw on-line at the American Chestnut Foundation site (http://www.acf.org/find_a_tree.php) I think what I found is an American Chestnut but I'm no expert by any stretch.

I posted some pix on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31567368@N06/3833535812/in/set-72157622073478688/

The nuts were good eats, too. :D

[Johnny Appleseed]

wont be starting a beer garden then. Chestnut trees are 1 of the things required for a beer garden. The other thing is BYOB. That is europe though.