The American Chestnut Makes a Slow Comeback

- by Kendra Gurney
Once a prominent eastern hardwood species that populated forests from Maine to Georgia, the American chestnut often grewmore than 100 feet high and five feet in diameter.
The tree has always been prized as a fast-growing large timber species: straight-grained, light, and rot-resistant, its wood was useful for everything fromrailroad ties andmine timbers to furniture and musical instruments. Plus, the late-flowering chestnuts reliably produced a mast crop of nuts every year. This nutritious food source was prized by humans, livestock, and wildlife—especially in the central heart of the Appalachian range.

Photo by Kendra Gurney, American Chestnut Foundation.