Rare Find!

The American Chestnut has haunted me for a very long time, trees this large are very rare and this one seems to be producing nuts!

We heard and saw plenty of turkeys today but no roosters!
 
bauerline said:
Very nice!

What kind of habitat work were you doing?
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We were doing Woodcock and Grouse work, there has been hold over pheasants in the past but there just isn't enough grassland for nesting.
 
Yikes!!! That's about the biggest one I've seen! :cheers: I know of some that are nice size, but not that large, are there any other AC close buy? Great find.
 
Yes, there are other Chestnuts close by, some have lost the battle agaisnt the blight, others seem to be doing ok. This tree shows the battle scars of the fight, with cankers that have heeled over.
 
Very cool find. Is it worth trying to start some saplings from the nuts? If that one can survive blight maybe it has something special in it's make up that could help?
 
quail hound said:
Very cool find. Is it worth trying to start some saplings from the nuts? If that one can survive blight maybe it has something special in it's make up that could help?
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By all means, and I'll be all over those nuts this fall. We've marked the location, but we'll have to time it just right, the wildlife love those nuts and will eat every last one of them as soon as they drop.
It's actually better to find a tree that is infected with the blight and fighting it than to find one that is blight free. The blight will eventually find the blight free tree and then it's goodnight!
 
Very nice I would suggest contacting your forestry division or penn state to let them know the location if they wish to research it. Just a thought.
 
mmelton said:
how do we know if its not an import chestnut.
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There are many dead Chestnut trees from the blight nearby, the leaves, bark, burrs, and growth habit resemble that of the American. This tree itself is severely stricken by the blight, the Chinese and Japanese trees normally don't show this kind of damage from the blight. At the very least it's a hy-brid with a high percentage of American Chestnut in it. I can send it leaf and twig samples for testing with the land owners permission.
 
Miforester said:
Very nice I would suggest contacting your forestry division or penn state to let them know the location if they wish to research it. Just a thought.
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I will, but I'll have to ask the land owner first!
 
Yes definitely get the landowners permission. Keep us posted on what happens.
 
fldbred,hollow,

Every year we collect some seed from some American Chestnut that are on a nearby SGL. If you'd like, I could send you guys some next fall, the ones from this year dried out.
If possible would love to get a seed or two from the tree you found.
 
Really nice find! That is a good DBH and I think I can see some of the healed over canker spots in the photo.

The trunk has a good amount of American characteristics. I see burrs 20 feet behind the gentleman in the photo...it must have a large crown.

Could be off but my guess is at least 35 years old. Post some photos when it leafs out.
 
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parooster said:
fldbred,hollow,

Every year we collect some seed from some American Chestnut that are on a nearby SGL. If you'd like, I could send you guys some next fall, the ones from this year dried out.
If possible would love to get a seed or two from the tree you found.
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parooster,

PM sent.
 
NorthPotter said:
Really nice find! That is a good DBH and I think I can see some of the healed over canker spots in the photo.

The trunk has a good amount of American characteristics. I see burrs 20 feet behind the gentleman in the photo...it must have a large crown.

Could be off but my guess is at least 25 years old. Post some photos when it leafs out.
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NorthPotter

Welcome to the site! I think you'll enjoy it here. The Moderators do a great job of keeping everything on track and no one will judge you on how you hunt or with what you hunt with.

There are some smaller trees very close by that are also producing seed. There are also some VERY LARGE old Chestnut stumps that died long ago . I'll be sure to keep track of it!
 
Does anyone know anything about the Dunstan chestnut? We were thinking about getting a few to improve the habitat on our property!
 
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