May Tree of the Month-American Chestnut

The American chestnut, Castanea dentata, is a tree with incredible stories to tell. Tales of diverse forests full of their ancestors soaring 75-100’ high. Tales full of Native Americans who coexisted with those giants, tending the landscapes where they grew in return for the nutritious nuts. Long tales of feeding everyone on the food chain from humans to turkeys, hogs, and cattle, scores of mammals, and down to detritivore insects that enriched the forest floor after breaking down their preferred chestnut leaves. The chestnut would tell how its rot-resistant, straight-grained wood was used not only for furniture and fence posts, but also for telegraph poles and railroad timbers that help build a young, growing country on the move. And the tale that we are reminded of every Christmas in a popular carol doesn’t describe the train cars overflowing with nuts bound for the holiday roastings over open fires.

But there are also tales of woe… that 20-million-pound annual nut crop during the holidays now comes from European and Asian chestnut species or are imported from Italy and Turkey. There hasn’t been chestnut lumber sold in decades. Most would assume the tree is now extinct. Who is the villain in this story? There are two: a deadly pathogen from Asia, Cryphonectria parasitica, introduced in the late 1800’s, brought our American chestnuts to their knees, while simultaneously, a fungus-like organism called Phytophthora cinnamomi was at work primarily in the southern part of the chestnut’s native range. Phytophthora kills the entire tree by killing the roots. Between the two evil blights, the American chestnut was almost wiped out in a span of approximately 50 years.

Like all good stories, there is hope. Unable to compete with soil organisms, the blight cannot kill the chestnut’s underground root system. Therefore, when a tree seems to die, stump sprouts can grow back if given enough sunlight. Unfortunately, they too eventually succumb to the blight, creating a fascinating, yet frustrating cycle of death and rebirth, making the chestnut considered functionally extinct, yet holding on to life long enough to bide time, hoping we humans can give a happy ending to this tale.
If you want to help, check out The American Chestnut Foundation;
The American Chestnut Foundation | Rooted in Restoration

What I love about this plant;
-Incredible history.
-Equally incredible fight to survive.
-Beautiful male flowers. (See top photo) Chestnuts are dioecious, meaning separate male and female plants. The female flowers of Castanea dentata aren’t showy.

What’s not so great;

-If the tree matures enough to produce fruit, the shells are downright evil with spiny husks that eventually open to reveal a beautiful, brown nut.
-The blight is prevalent and can give false hope to those with young chestnuts. Once infected, a chestnut can go from perfect and healthy-looking to wilted and dead within two weeks. The American Chestnut Foundation is doing amazing work to find a blight-resistant selection and is a wonderful resource for all things chestnut! You can even obtain seeds or trees by visiting the website;
The American Chestnut Foundation | Rooted in Restoration

-Comments or questions? Email Garden-Lou at gardenloustl@gmail.com

WWords and photos by Jo Batzer unless stated otherwise.

© Jo Batzer, garden-lou.com-2026, All rights reserved.