A Miniature American Chestnut?
While hiking in Shenandoah National Park last weekend, I became baffled by a couple small trees that caught my eye. I was baffled because they looked very much like an American Chestnut tree, just scaled down to a child-size. The scallop of the leaf edges intrigued me, being so reminiscent of the chestnut tree that I am so familiar with.
Ocean Waves and Pointed Teeth
The American Chestnut’s leaf is characterized by an ocean wave edge. Here you can see the edge of the American Beech, with its leaf edge of sharp pointed teeth. Sometimes the American Chestnut ocean wave edge looks much the same, the waves are just not breaking.
Funny Thing About That
Going to my library of books on trees, I discovered that chestnut trees are in the beech family. No wonder they look similar!
Smooth Bark
The American Beech has a silvery gray bark that is smooth, which it retains even into old age.
A Tree That Does Not Drop Its Leaves
This autumn, as other trees are dropping their leaves, the American Beech will hold onto its leaves through the winter and will only drop them as the winter turns to spring. These small trees with brown leaves in the dead of winter, in the understory of the forest, have fascinated me for years. Only now do I know what they are!
4 responses to “Brown Leaves All Winter”
The photos are gorgeous and the information is really useful in expanding my knowledgebase…Thank you.
Charlie, so very glad to see that you’ve read my post. I learn new things nearly each time I take a hike up my mountain and love sharing the information with others. I appreciate your kind words.
At
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CADE12
I read this:
“Formerly a large tree with a massive trunk and a broad, rounded, dense crown; now small sprouts from base of long-dead trees.
“American Chestnut is gone from the forests, a victim of the chestnut blight caused by an introduced fungus. This disease began in New York City in 1904, spread rapidly, and within 40 years had virtually wiped out this once abundant species. Fortunately, there is no threat of extinction; sprouts continue from roots until killed back by the blight, and cultivated trees grow in western states and other areas where the parasite is absent. Blight-resistant chestnuts such as hybrids between American and Chinese species are being developed for ornament, shade, and wildlife. The wood of this species was once the main domestic source of tannin, the edible chestnuts were a commercial crop, and the leaves were used in home medicines. ”
What a sad first word: formerly.
Yes, Steve, long gone is the towering American Chestnut trees that comprised 1/3 of the total tree population in its native range. The scraggly, American Chestnut “Bush” is not too unusual to find, though a tall, more than a decade old tree is a rarity and something to be celebrated.
The American Chestnut Foundation is working hard to bring back this stately tree – back to the forests of its native range. Check back with me in 100 – 200 years and we’ll see how that work has panned out! I’ve devoted many volunteer hours to this project and with each passing year, it becomes more satisfying.
There *is* hope, though *much* work is required.