American Chestnut

American Chestnut

American Chestnut Castanea dentata is a beautiful spreading tree that used to be common in North America and was much valued for its timber and its nuts. In the early 1900s a fungal disease, the Chestnut Blight, gained a foothold in America and eventually killed almost all of the chestnut trees. The fruits of this tree have a spiny outer casing containing between 1 and 5 dull brown nuts that are good to eat. Other species of chestnut from Europe and Asia are more resistant to Chestnut Blight. [CH] {FW}