American chestnut is a large tree of the Beech family and it’s only grows on the east of North America. It can reach up to 100 feet in height and almost 10 feet in diameter, so it’s really easy to recognize it. The shape of leaves, the size of nuts and the length of petiole are making it different from its European and Asian relatives (European sweet chestnut, Chinese chestnut, Japanese chestnut). The leaves, which are 5–8 inches long and 3–4 inches broad, are usually slightly shorter and wider than by the corresponding representatives of this species . This tree produces many miniature pale green male flowers that are growing along its long catkins. The female parts are located near base of the catkins and appear in the period of May-July.
The wood of American chestnut is really solid, so people use it for making of different wooden furniture and also poles, posts, railroad ties and, of course, flooring. But there is a really big problem with this tree – since the beginning of the new century, those giant forest keepers have begun to suffer from the Cryphonectria parasitica – also known as a chestnut blight. This disease moved the American chestnut from the dominant tree pantheon in the eastern forest to little more than a slight planting. For several years the chestnut wood hasn’t been sold in the USA. There is even an organization that provides the protection of these trees – The American Chestnut Foundation (TASF). It was founded in 1983 by the environmentalists and significant scientists who were obsessed with the catastrophic ecological situation and the bad influence on the local economy because of the American chestnut extinction. After all these years there is still a hope, that the American chestnut will have its chance to be reintroducted to the nature system of our world.
Works cited:
“Background on American chestnut and chestnut blight”. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Web. 19.04.16.
“History of The American Chestnut Foundation”. The American Chestnut Foundation. Web. 19.04.16.
