American Chestnut Tree
While hiking with the dogs on the Rock Trail this morning I found one of the rarest of trees in the wild these days, an American chestnut (Castanea dentata).
Reaching heights of 100 feet, chestnut trees ruled the mountain hardwood forests until the sac fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica , was introduced into the United States from Asia in the early 1900's. The blight creates cankers that cause the trunks to split as shown in this photograph of an afflicted tree.
Virtually all mature chestnut trees had been killed by the fungus by 1940. The roots, however, were unaffected and the sapling that I found today has emerged from the underground portion of a tree that has been dead above ground for nearly 70 years.
Hypovirulent versions of the sac virus have been used successfully to preserve individual trees and I have contact the NCSU School of Forestry to determine if it is possible to treat my sapling. Hope so.
Reaching heights of 100 feet, chestnut trees ruled the mountain hardwood forests until the sac fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica , was introduced into the United States from Asia in the early 1900's. The blight creates cankers that cause the trunks to split as shown in this photograph of an afflicted tree.
Virtually all mature chestnut trees had been killed by the fungus by 1940. The roots, however, were unaffected and the sapling that I found today has emerged from the underground portion of a tree that has been dead above ground for nearly 70 years.
Hypovirulent versions of the sac virus have been used successfully to preserve individual trees and I have contact the NCSU School of Forestry to determine if it is possible to treat my sapling. Hope so.
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