Identifying characteristics:
A medium to large tree 60 to 90 feet tall, often with a divided trunk and
a broad, open crown with wide-spreading, horizontal branches. The leaves are simple, alternate, oblong-lanceolate
and sharply toothed. The parallel veins run to the tips of the teeth which
are glandular. The leaves are thin, yellow-green and smooth. The flowers are without petals, appearing
after the leaves. Male flowers are creamy white, fragrant and densely clustered
on semi-erect stalks. Female flowers are inconspicuous and scattered at
the base of male flowers. The fruit
is a large, sweet, edible nut up an inch long enclosed in a large, 2- to
4-valved bur covered with long, sharp spines. Nuts mature in a year and
fall just after the first frosts. Leaf scars are oval with many bundle scars.
A terminal bud is absent, but the side buds are ovoid, red-brown,
with 2 to 3 thin, overlapping scales. The bark
is thick, gray-brown and furrowed with broad, flat ridges.
Similar species:
Ecology:
Distribution: The American chestnut was once widespread throughout
eastern North America, but has largely been eliminated by the chestnut blight
(Cryphonectria parasitica). C. dentata is not native to Iowa,
but was once widely planted here for its nut crop and valuable lumber until
the disease occurred in this state. First detected in the New York Zoological
Park in 1904, the chestnut blight was believed to have been introduced to
the US on infected Chinese chestnut trees (C. mollisima), which show
some degree of resistance. There is no cure and young trees exist because
the chestnut sprouts readily from old stumps that remain healthy for 13
to 15 years-but rarely long enough to produce flowers and fruit before infection
sets in.
Habitat: This species has an intermediate tolerance of shade and grows best in gravelly, rocky, well-drained soils on hillsides or mountain slopes.
Uses:
Wood: The wood is soft, very resistant to decay, lightweight
and easy to split. It was formerly important and used for poles, posts,
railroad ties, furniture and caskets. Salvaged wood from old stumps is still
highly valued for paneling. Chestnut split-rail fences still exist throughout
the Northeast and Appalachian chain.
Wildlife: Years ago the chestnut was one of the most important wildlife plants of the eastern US. Deer, wild turkey, squirrels, chipmunks and other animals eat the nuts. Although the chinkapin (C. pumila), a smaller cousin of the American chestnut, has not succumbed to the disease, its wildlife value is relatively small.
