Back in 1981 I went to England for an adventurous vacation. It was in December after Christmas. I found it magical. The Christmas lights were everywhere and outlined Harrods beautifully. It was winter and cold, but I found the cold refreshing, unlike South African bone piercing weather. I spent 3 weeks there. Saw much, enjoyed the historical places, but one experience I'll never forget was the chestnut stands along the streets and the smell of them roasting will always stay with me. How exciting to purchase a brown paper bag filled with chestnuts in the dark streets.
American chestnut trees once graced forests from Maine to Georgia and to the west of the Mississippi River. At the turn of the 20th century an Asian fungus was accidentally and what is largely left are slender blight infested trees and haunting grey specters such as a long dead giant in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The American Chestnut Foundation are working to resurrect the chestnut.
With new knowledge, researchers have one goal: the trees revival.
Funny business : Thick, white foam is arching through the leaves, a bulldozer ripping gashes in the earth, busy firefighters, there is no fire though at least not one with flames. The researchers are in one of the last known forests of American chestnut and they're going to kill some trees. They would soon die anyway, stricken with chestnut blight. Left alone, they would take the forest with them.
The Asian fungus causing the problem, arrived on the continent long ago. Within 40 years it had erased several billion chestnut trees from the eastern forests. Yet, the chestnuts clung to life.
Generations fought and failed to avert the cataclysm to restore the tree. Luckily there are new hopes. A breeding program promises to transfer resistance from Asian to American chestnut trees. They are winning the chestnut back.
Once this becomes a common scene, tall straight boles of chestnut rising beneath a dense canopy of saw teethed leaves would become common. The chestnut will survive because man took the necessary steps, but it was man whom nearly caused extinction. Oh how I wish I could have a paper bag filled with roasted chestnuts now!!
The chestnut is an ancient tree and is a genus of 9 species of deciduous trees and shrubs. Native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The best known ancient trees can be found in Gloucester in the UK.
I'll mention the species for interest sake. All this is new knowledge to me and interesting.
Bush chinkapin, Japanese chestnut, American chestnut, Henry's chestnut, Chinese chestnut, Ozark chinkapin, Allegheny chinkapin, Sweet chestnut and Sequins chestnut.
Sources : Wikipedia, National Geographic own experience , Pixabay.
