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NC, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 8:57:57 PM EDT
[#1]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By governmentman: Tree was absolutely getting murdered by it. I cut half a dozen that were thicker than my wrist. It was bad enough that I wonder which was killing it more limbs , the blight or getting choked out by ivy Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By governmentman: Originally Posted By mississippiflush: Holy shit that is a massive poison ivy vine Tree was absolutely getting murdered by it. I cut half a dozen that were thicker than my wrist. It was bad enough that I wonder which was killing it more limbs , the blight or getting choked out by ivy How did you cut it without getting that crap all over you? I have a couple of monsters I need to cut off my trees in the mountains. I’m VERY allergic to poison ivy. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:11:04 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Tjcj: Not to sound edgy , but what's the big deal about a possible American Chestnut tree ? A blight-resistant purely American chestnut would have huge economic value and ecological value. It could change the forest composition of a huge swath of the eastern US. |
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TN, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:17:49 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Woodsman20]
[#3]
Given a glance at the leaf you are showing it is not likely a Chinese.
I would say it is either an American Chestnut or a Dwarf Chestnut, Chinkapin (Castanea pumila). American chest is usually taller and if it is a Chinkapin it is a big one, 50' is about as big as they get and are typically multi stemmed. You re on the edge of a chinkapin's range. Chestnut can have one or more nuts in the husk, if more than one, likely chestnut. I think it is a large blighted chestnut. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:20:52 PM EDT
[Last Edit: governmentman]
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By konger: How did you cut it without getting that crap all over you? I have a couple of monsters I need to cut off my trees in the mountains. I’m VERY allergic to poison ivy. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By konger: How did you cut it without getting that crap all over you? I have a couple of monsters I need to cut off my trees in the mountains. I’m VERY allergic to poison ivy. Do it when it's cold and before there are any leaves. I had to fucking chainsaw some of it. Originally Posted By Woodsman20: Given a glance at the leaf you are showing it is not likely a Chinese. I would say it is either an American Chestnut or a Dwarf Chestnut, Chinkapin (Castanea pumila). American chest is usually taller and if it is a Chinkapin it is a big one, 50' is about as big as they get and are typically multi stemmed. You re on the edge of a chinkapin's range. Chestnut can have one or more nuts in the husk, if more than one, likely chestnut. I think it is a large blighted chestnut. Cracked two of the unopened burs open earlier. Multiple shriveled nuts in each. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:22:48 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By arowneragain: @Fredman Sigh beat by five second. Haha, was trying to remember his name! |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:24:31 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 14BoltFF: Some asshole saw mine (about 8" diameter trunk) and decided to do just that a couple of years ago.  OP, that is cool as hell! The chestnut people who track them will be happy to hear about it! https://d3m7xw68ay40x8.cloudfront.net/assets/2012/08/31153127/Shelton-Family-Chestnut.jpg Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 14BoltFF: Originally Posted By PikeSlayer: Cut it down and make $$$ Some asshole saw mine (about 8" diameter trunk) and decided to do just that a couple of years ago. OP, that is cool as hell! The chestnut people who track them will be happy to hear about it! https://d3m7xw68ay40x8.cloudfront.net/assets/2012/08/31153127/Shelton-Family-Chestnut.jpg @14BoltFF Did you catch them?? |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:26:54 PM EDT
[#7]
This post reminds me of why I stick around.
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:28:57 PM EDT
[#8]
This is why we go outside. Awesome thread OP
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GA, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:29:25 PM EDT
[#9]
No idea how the blight works but I wonder if the trees isolation out in the field has protected it?
Hope It turns out to be legit. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:37:38 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HappyCamel: It may very well be an American, there are still millions out there. Generally they don't survive to maturity tho. You can still aquire American Chestnuts as part of different projects. Unfortunately the project to develop a blight resistant American Chestnut just failed at the end of last year. Rather than a hybrid, they took a true American Chestnut and inserted a wheat gene that detoxifies the oxalic acid the blight produces. Unfortunately it turns out they made a mix up, probably 10 years ago, and the tree they started with wasn't the right tree. Sounds like you're talking about the American Chestnut Foundation's efforts. The wheat gene thing is only part of a comprehensive effort, but I hadn't read about such a setback. But not sure how even such a setback could equate to "failed." FWIW, OP: info on identification from the American Chestnut Foundation: https://tacf.org/identification/ |
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PA, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:37:52 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 13Joker: Can anything be done for the blight? You dig up dirt from around the tree, put it on the canker, wrap it, and leave the wrap on for a year or a little more. The microbes in the soil will kill the blight fungus enough to let the tree heal the canker. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:39:04 PM EDT
[#12]
Farmhouse on my farm has chestnut plank flooring, gorgeous wood.
We are all hoping with you OP. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:42:16 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By governmentman: Do it when it's cold and before there are any leaves. I had to fucking chainsaw some of it. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:43:16 PM EDT
[#14]
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:44:10 PM EDT
[#15]
Pretty neat.
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:46:31 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By fingas: I grew up thinking I was immune to poison ivy because I'd play in it with no issues. So one day I offered to cut down some trees covered in it. I ended up covered in blisters, apparently a few hours being sprayed with the sap was too much. Resistance to urishol can change over time. I’ve went from highly sensitive to immune to lightly sensitive in my lifetime. |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:47:46 PM EDT
[#17]
that's awesome, I live near Mariposa and it's really sad to see so few old trees. I found some aerial photos from the 1940s of the area and was shocked to see how barren most of the land was compared to today. People back then gave zero fucks and just stripped almost everything.
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PA, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:53:01 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Flindelaaf]
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By governmentman: It gets more interesting. My FiL came by a bit ago to drop off my son (who was spending some time helping him this afternoon). Mentioned that I do see signs of blight on that tree, which is a shame. He said at least the other two are healthy. Other two? Turns out there are two slightly younger, but still big, chestnuts on his side of the old farm. Went to check them out. Big (six year old again for scale) and no sign of blight. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/329177/IMG20240407190024_-_Copy_jpg-3181488.JPG Nuts for those who asked. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/329177/IMG20240407185951_-_Copy_jpg-3181490.JPG Interesting thread and neat find. The tree in the pictures in your original post certainly looks like American Chestnut. The trees in the pictures of the other two do not. Asian chestnuts are typically squatter.. Another unicorn would be to find an American mulberry in SE Pennsylvania. I suspect they no longer exist 
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Posted: 4/7/2024 9:56:50 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Tjcj: Not to sound edgy , but what's the big deal about a possible American Chestnut tree ? The American Chestnut Tree used to be one of the main trees in our forests. It grew fairly quickly, produced very good wood, and the nuts were plentiful and nutritious both for humans and for the critters humans like to hunt and eat. Then some fungus got introduced that the American Chestnut had no resistance to and virtually all of them were wiped out. There are programs trying to breed an American Chestnut which is blight resistant. Trees take a long time to grow so it is a long term project but the impact of success would be huge both for restoring a native species of plant to our forests and for the economic benefits. Any American Chestnut trees which have survived are likely blight resistant and that means their genes could be very useful for restoring them to our forests. And, it is possible, but unlikely, that a tree could be found which was immune, or nearly immune, to the blight on it's own. If so and if the tree were passing that resistance on to it's... (children, seedlings, offspring? Whatever you call it for trees) then those chestnuts would be quite valuable. A whole lot of landowners would love to get a bunch of blight resistant chestnut seedlings. I have friends with a lot of land and I would personally get my old, lazy, fat ass out in a field to dig holes and plant them if I had the chance. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:00:08 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Tjcj: Not to sound edgy , but what's the big deal about a possible American Chestnut tree ? It made up a huge portion of the eastern broadleaf forest, providing ample food and wood to animals and people, before a series of imported, invasive diseases culminating with the chestnut blight nearly wiped it out in the early 20th century. Now, almost all surviving trees are root sprouts from old trees felled by the blight, and the sprouts tend to die before they fruit. To find a large, nut-producing Am. chestnut tree in the heart of its old range is a rare discovery. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:14:29 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Flindelaaf: Interesting thread and neat find. The tree in the pictures in your original post certainly looks like American Chestnut. The trees in the pictures of the other two do not. Asian chestnuts are typically squatter.. There are American chestnuts in SE PA. I've found a few on Neversink Mountain, but they are growing from dead stumps. I did find a bunch of chestnut seedlings on another hill/mountain outside of Reading. They could be American Chestnut, and if they are, there must be two seed-producing trees in the woods. Can't find them, however. Another unicorn would be to find an American mulberry in SE Pennsylvania. I suspect they no longer exist What happened to the mulberry trees? |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:16:49 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HappyCamel: It may very well be an American, there are still millions out there. Generally they don't survive to maturity tho. You can still aquire American Chestnuts as part of different projects. Unfortunately the project to develop a blight resistant American Chestnut just failed at the end of last year. Rather than a hybrid, they took a true American Chestnut and inserted a wheat gene that detoxifies the oxalic acid the blight produces. Unfortunately it turns out they made a mix up, probably 10 years ago, and the tree they started with wasn't the right tree. I think i got some of those from my cousin (he has connections due to his job) They lasted only two years There is an old american chestnut tree somewhere behind where I live but on the water authority land And they have thousands of acres, not long before my Dad passed away, he met a water authority employee while he was walking the chocolate lab Buddy (hes gone too) Turned out they were both classmates from a small catholic school in Braddock Pa, They guy told my Dad he found a chestnut tree and collected a paper lunch bag full of nuts, but he didn't tell him exactly where or give him any nuts to try to grow. The guy was getting water samples, but its just about like looking for the meedle in a haystack amonst the thousadns of trees just behind where I live. |
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NY, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:22:40 PM EDT
[#23]
That's been cut and then it's regrown from the stump the blight will get it again and the cycle will continue
I have one on my property as well |
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USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:26:39 PM EDT
[#24]
Looks like American and the Asian and European have a much bigger nut. This is awesome!
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USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:28:00 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Panta_Rei]
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TheTurnip: That's been cut and then it's regrown from the stump the blight will get it again and the cycle will continue I have one on my property as well Those trees should have already been girdled by blight. I've never seen an American that big. |
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NY, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:35:01 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Panta_Rei: Those trees should have already been girdled by blight. I've never seen an American that big. Blight doesn't kill them that quickly they have a huge growth advantage from the already existing root system which is completely not effected by the blight I'll post a photo of mine tomorrow of course they look best in late spring covered in catkins |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:38:29 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By mississippiflush: Holy shit that is a massive poison ivy vine Which picture has the big ivy vine, and where in the pic if you can please. My desert rat ass is not well versed on the plant. Thanks |
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CHN
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:42:21 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TheTurnip: That's been cut and then it's regrown from the stump the blight will get it again and the cycle will continue … This was my first thought as well. Still a cool discovery, great post and we all wish you luck! |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:45:03 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By fingas: I grew up thinking I was immune to poison ivy because I'd play in it with no issues. So one day I offered to cut down some trees covered in it. I ended up covered in blisters, apparently a few hours being sprayed with the sap was too much. My brothers are hyper allergic to it but I’m not at all. I used to demonstrate it to doubters by rubbing it on me and nothing happening. My doc said you can suddenly develop a massive response to it that way so needless to say I quit doing that 
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USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:45:35 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Panta_Rei]
[#30]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TheTurnip: Blight doesn't kill them that quickly they have a huge growth advantage from the already existing root system which is completely not effected by the blight I'll post a photo of mine tomorrow of course they look best in late spring covered in catkins In VA I've never seen a native chestnut more than 8" diameter before they die back. Where are all these mature trees? |
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TN, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 10:50:18 PM EDT
[#31]
Lots of schools and organizations working on this
https://www.tectn.org/americanchestnutproject.html |
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NE, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 11:08:19 PM EDT
[#32]
There is a chestnut survival group that is helping to find a preserve these trees.
Do a search I don’t recall the name. |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 11:20:04 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SperlingPE: There is a chestnut survival group that is helping to find a preserve these trees. Do a search I don’t recall the name. The American Chestnut Foundation |
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Posted: 4/7/2024 11:39:03 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By C-4: @14BoltFF Did you catch them?? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By C-4: Originally Posted By 14BoltFF: Originally Posted By PikeSlayer: Cut it down and make $$$ Some asshole saw mine (about 8" diameter trunk) and decided to do just that a couple of years ago. OP, that is cool as hell! The chestnut people who track them will be happy to hear about it! https://d3m7xw68ay40x8.cloudfront.net/assets/2012/08/31153127/Shelton-Family-Chestnut.jpg @14BoltFF Did you catch them?? @C-4 I did not, unfortunately. It occurred at my rural cabin, which I visit a couple times per month. The tree was about 30 ft. from the road next to the driveway, so it was very visible to passersby who know trees. They cut it as low as they could - the top of the stump is just a few inches from the ground. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 4/7/2024 11:39:50 PM EDT
[#35]
Way cool OP! I hope you are planting those nuts!
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Posted: 4/8/2024 12:10:03 AM EDT
[#36]
I'd pay for a few nuts! I'd love to plant some on my land!
I have lots of oak, walnut and some pine. 2 acres of clear land in the front and they would flourish there. |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 12:14:38 AM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Willmar: Under a spreading chestnut-tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands. 
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Posted: 4/8/2024 5:48:42 AM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 14BoltFF: @C-4 I did not, unfortunately. It occurred at my rural cabin, which I visit a couple times per month. The tree was about 30 ft. from the road next to the driveway, so it was very visible to passersby who know trees. They cut it as low as they could - the top of the stump is just a few inches from the ground. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 14BoltFF: Originally Posted By C-4: Originally Posted By 14BoltFF: Originally Posted By PikeSlayer: Cut it down and make $$$ Some asshole saw mine (about 8" diameter trunk) and decided to do just that a couple of years ago. OP, that is cool as hell! The chestnut people who track them will be happy to hear about it! https://d3m7xw68ay40x8.cloudfront.net/assets/2012/08/31153127/Shelton-Family-Chestnut.jpg @14BoltFF Did you catch them?? @C-4 I did not, unfortunately. It occurred at my rural cabin, which I visit a couple times per month. The tree was about 30 ft. from the road next to the driveway, so it was very visible to passersby who know trees. They cut it as low as they could - the top of the stump is just a few inches from the ground. Ugh. I really hate people sometimes! |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 7:45:13 AM EDT
[#39]
My dad went home to Greenbrier County, WV when he retired from the Air Force in 1975. He spent a lot of time in the woods walking, scouting, hunting, cutting firewood, renewing his mental map of the area for miles around the house from when he was a kid and made a little money tracking down and bringing people's milk cows home after school every day.
He would sometimes find native chestnut trees big enough to have nuts. He called the shells burrs. Sometimes there would be enough under a tree he'd pick up 5 or 6 and bring home. He'd plant them other places as he spent time in the woods several days a week. Across the road from their house is an old garden field and there was a chestnut tree their big enough to have nuts on it for a few years before it died. Not common, but they are still struggling to overcome that asian bark fungus that took them out. When I was a kid (mid to late 60's) there was a stump on the hill behind grandma's house that had saplings growing up from the roots for several years before if finally died completely. |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 8:46:42 AM EDT
[#40]
For those of you looking for American Chestnut seeds....
This place claims to have blight-free pure American Chestnut seeds. You may want to check them out. https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/products/american-chestnut?variant=42663267958837 |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 9:10:52 AM EDT
[#41]
Very cool.
This thread reminds me of an old abandoned cabin in Central WV where I hunted as a kid. The cabin is maybe 500 sq/ft but the floors, wall, and ceiling are all American chestnut. I haven't been in the cabin in 25 years, it's probably all ruined, but if someone were to reclaim that wood it would have been worth serious money. |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 4/8/2024 9:32:24 AM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Panta_Rei: In VA I've never seen a native chestnut more than 8" diameter before they die back. Where are all these mature trees? Lesesne State Forest in Nelson County has several stands of back crossed American chestnut ( I think ACF was involved). They drop lots of burrs/nuts in September. |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 9:46:21 AM EDT
[#43]
@Flindelaaf
Do you have a source for that cure? I would be very interested in learning about its mode of action |
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PA, USA
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Posted: 4/8/2024 12:18:40 PM EDT
[#44]
Op, if they are American chestnuts, I'd like to buy a bucket full of seeds from you as well.
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Posted: 4/8/2024 12:55:05 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jrtatonka: Op, if they are American chestnuts, I'd like to buy a bucket full of seeds from you as well. Once the leaves are on, I'll be sending samples to TACF for identification. Looking around some more, I have five candidates I'm going to send them; the big old one in the OP, the two my FiL has (they are about 100 yards from the big fella), and two small ones (15 or 20 feet tall) right by the big fella that I think sprouted from fallen nuts. I didn't recognize the two small ones until this morning since the bark on young chestnuts is smooth and I knew next to nothing about trees prior to this. They also seem healthy. Glad I didn't chainsaw them yet. If any of these are confirmed as american chestnuts, I'll either bump this thread or start a new one in the fall and mail out boxes of burs / nuts when new ones are dropping. |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 1:00:43 PM EDT
[#46]
I’m no tree hugging hippy, but this is some great news!
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PA, USA
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Posted: 4/8/2024 2:34:48 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SMC527: @Flindelaaf Do you have a source for that cure? I would be very interested in learning about its mode of action @SMC527, here's a link: https://tacf.org/ct-news/a-brief-summary-of-chestnut-canker-biocontrol/ Scroll down to the section on mudpacking. I have tried it on an ACF tree that I have that developed a canker, and it worked. It's not a cure, however. It will only help the canker heal and not girdle the tree. The tree can still develop the blight later and kill the tree. |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 4:08:17 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By juan223: Which picture has the big ivy vine, and where in the pic if you can please. My desert rat ass is not well versed on the plant. Thanks Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By juan223: Originally Posted By mississippiflush: Holy shit that is a massive poison ivy vine Which picture has the big ivy vine, and where in the pic if you can please. My desert rat ass is not well versed on the plant. Thanks First pic. That 6 inch round light colored vine covered in clumps of black "hair" |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 4:38:31 PM EDT
[#49]
Send me some nuts and I'll try to get one to grow in my back yard.
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Posted: 4/8/2024 5:08:00 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By governmentman: Once the leaves are on, I'll be sending samples to TACF for identification. Looking around some more, I have five candidates I'm going to send them; the big old one in the OP, the two my FiL has (they are about 100 yards from the big fella), and two small ones (15 or 20 feet tall) right by the big fella that I think sprouted from fallen nuts. I didn't recognize the two small ones until this morning since the bark on young chestnuts is smooth and I knew next to nothing about trees prior to this. They also seem healthy. Glad I didn't chainsaw them yet. If any of these are confirmed as american chestnuts, I'll either bump this thread or start a new one in the fall and mail out boxes of burs / nuts when new ones are dropping. Excuse me sir. But this is Arfcom, we expect answers much quicker than in a few months. Especially for great threads.  |
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