American Chestnut

Castanea dentata
Fagaceae

Growth Habit

Tree

Description

Tree to 45m with trunk to 4m in diameter. Young shoots glabrous or slightly scurfy at first. Leaves 14-22 x 4-5cm, dull green, glabrous above and beneath, oblong-lanceolate, cuneate, apex acuminate, margins with large, glandular teeth; petiole 1cm. Male catkins 10-20cm. Fruits clustered 1-3, a globose burr 5-7cm diameter, with dense slender spines; nuts mostly 2-3 in a burr.

Source of plant

The American Chestnut Foundation, Allen Nichols, Stanley Scharf

USDA Hardiness Zone

4