My absolute favorite tree. The American Chestnut (Castanea dentata). A picture from this morning.

You would be surprised how many of them there are out there. Not a whole bunch of them but every now and then one will be found around here. Mature trees. Up in Shenandoah National Park, or along the Appalachian Trail, or on private land.

The blight that has put the tree in dire straits is Cryphonectria parasitica, also known as the chestnut blight. It was first discovered in North America in 1904, in the New York Zoological Garden in the Bronx. Since that time the blight has wiped out between three and four billion American Chestnut trees. Work is ongoing by The American Chestnut Foundation to restore this precious tree. I’m hoping that one day it will happen.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!