Beeches grow really large too. There is one in Dumbarton Oaks in DC. Also I saw them in a museum display of the American Indidans. Also elms and mighty oaks. Incidentally, if you Google it you can find places to buy resistant American Chestnut trees to restock our forest lands. I’m thinking of getting some.
“Incidentally, if you Google it you can find places to buy resistant American Chestnut trees to restock our forest lands. I’m thinking of getting some.”
I’d definitely do it if there are any, but from what I’ve read we haven’t got a blight resistant American Chestnut.
The loss of that species was a great tragedy. It was the most common tree in Eastern Hardwood forests until 1904 and many trees were 6 ft thick and nearly 100 feet high. It was fast growing, provided beautiful wood and was a major food source for all sorts of wildlife.
I suspect there was a link between the death of the American Chestnut and the extinction of the Passenger Pigeons that used to feed on them. Of course Passenger Pigeons may not have been such a wonderful thing- there were billions of them and their droppings were a major health hazard.