“The Christmas Song,” written in 1945 hides some interesting information about American History. The American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) was once one of the largest trees in eastern North America. Today, it is almost extinct.
The American Chestnut was dominant, once billions existed stretching from present-day Maine to Alabama and Mississippi. They stood over 100 feet tall and over 10 feet in diameter. It was an integral food source for American Indigenous peoples. It was not only an excellent food source for themselves, but the wildlife. The nuts and their leaves contain higher levels of nutrients than other local tree species. Call it a “keystone” of its time, being the source of energy for many invertebrates, mammals and turkeys. And if American Chestnuts were still here today, they would still be considered a keystone species to much of Appalachian country.
The expiration of the American Chestnut began when European settlers began to settle the Appalachian range. The American Chestnut was discovered by the new inhabitants who found the mighty tree to be rot-resistant and straight-growing. It quickly became a favorite choice for building materials, furniture, and fencing. The chestnut forests were also used for silvopasture. (Silvopasture is the deliberate integration of trees and grazing livestock operations on the same land. – US Forest Service) The chestnuts were harvested and sold each winter.
In 1904, the discovery of American chestnut blight, Cryphonectria parasitica, was first recorded in New York, some sources say it had started before the turn of the century. Believed to be introduced by imported Asian Chestnut Trees, the disease spread rapidly. The blight would cause cankers and the trunks and branches, killing the upper portions of the tree. The roots, however, were not affected. By 1950, the American chestnut was wiped out throughout Maine to Mississippi. The living roots continued a painful cycle of new stump sprouts living for several years before being infected again and dying again. The blight cannot kill the underground root system as the pathogen is unable to compete with soil microorganisms.
To this very day, the American chestnut still survives, reduced down a few hundred stumps in the eastern US. Two organizations seek to change the sad sprouting from roots cycle and develop blight-resistant American chestnuts to reintroduce into the Eastern United States. The American Chestnut Foundation and The American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation are working hard with breeding efforts to maintain genetic purity and blight resistance.
I begin to think that it was a mere miracle, that in 1945, there were still enough chestnuts for Bob Wells to reminisce about to write the opening lyric of “The Christmas Song” made famous by Nat King Cole. So, if you do happen to enjoy some chestnuts this holiday season, know that they once stood 100 feet tall in our eastern neighbor states, and one day soon we hopefully won’t have to import them from Italy, Turkey, and France.
Tricia Herr is the Montgomery County Extension Educator, Ag and Natural Resource. The office is at 400 Parke Ave., Crawfordsville; 765-364-6363. She may be reached by email at triciaherr@purdue.edu.
