Three chestnut sighting at three jobs in less than one week.

[Delawhere Jack]

I'll feel like a real knucklehead if I'm mistaken, but I think these were genuine American Chestnuts. I've seen Chinese Chestnuts before, and the leaves are distinctly different. In order: first photo from Swedesboro NJ, second from near Wilmington DE, the last from Kent Island MD.

Danny, ... what do you think?


  

  

 

[Don P]

I think you're looking at another castanea, the chinkapin
https://web.archive.org/web/20060430073158/http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=24

[WDH]

DJ,

Here is how to tell.

Leaves more than 6" long, glabrous (smooth) on both surfaces; nut flattened on one side; more than one nut per bur; bur 2 - 3" in diameter.  This is American Chestnut, Castanea dentata.

Leaves usually less than 6" long, hairy underneath, often densely so; nuts not flattened one one side; single nut in bur; bur 1 - 1.5" in diameter.  This is Allegheny Chinquapin.  Castanea pumila.

Chinese chestnut also has more than one nut to the bur, so it can be confused with American Chestnut except for the fact that the leaves are very hairy (tomentose)underneath with a lighter color than the top of the leaf.  Called whitish bloom.

So, how many nuts to the bur?  Are the leaves hairy underneath?  Check that out and you will know your answer.

[YellowHammer]

Maybe four? 
I had a customer bring these little pieces to mill up as a favor to the local Burritt Mountain Museum.  Somehow or other they identified it as a chestnut and asked me to saw it up for them.
Can this be identified as a chestnut? 

[Delawhere Jack]

Thanks Danny. The second and third photos -- the leaves were smooth on the bottom, not sure about the first. Could not obtain a burr from the second photo. Split open a burr from the third photo, and there were two nuts, and they had a flat side.

Most confident in the second example, as the client grew up on the property, and knew that his father had planted the source tree sometime in the 1930's (? 40's?).

[WDH]

Robert, the grain looks right.  Chestnut has tyloses like white oak, and they should be visible on the end grain with a hand lens.  They look like little crystalline grains of sand. 

Jack, good deal.  Now you know what to look for. 

[Delawhere Jack]

Finally got to mill some chestnut! ;D A different property, 1.6 miles from the other Wilmington DE chestnut site. A former DuPont estate. Uprooted in the snow/ice storm we had here the first day of spring. Too hectic to do much investigative work on the exact variety. Will be returning to mill walnut this week. Will try to go and gather some leaves, nut husks from the chestnut site. Pretty stuff!!