I saw these odd nuts on a decent size tree out back behind my house, along an old logging access road. Jumped on the web to see what it was and ended up reading about chestnut trees for over an hour! Very interesting history. Apparently they were extremely prolific and vital for American homesteaders back in the day...before being wiped out by a disease 100+ years ago. Even though they're basically wiped out is it still possible for them to grow in the wild? I'm in central New Hampshire by the way.
Looks more like Chinese chestnut. Edit: upon looking at the Goo Gle and reading the replies below, I concur that this would be Beech- one of many trees I’ve little to know experience with.
Or Beech, I've seen some of the nuts looking like that this year. Seems to be a bumper crop of beech nuts and acorns this year.
I'm thinking it is possibly a chinquapin. I have Chinese Chestnuts, and they are normally much larger. But there are tons of different cultivars now. Hybrids of them from all over the world. Most of the American Chestnuts did die out. There is a lot of discussion around Dunstan crosses and the such, but their nuts are also usually much larger.
Growing up we just called it horse chestnut. Would always go up and grab a few nut as they always smooth once ya took the shell off.
I believe it to be a beech as well. Observed some of the nuts on the ground recently. Any chance you can get us a pic of the tree itself Blstr88 ?
Horsechestnut, now that’s a tree I woodn’t burn again. I had picked up some when my ex’s mother had taken down a tree in her backyard, grabbed a lot of the wood plus a bounty of plum! Whew. Burning the wood, the “ smoke” was not pleasant to smell, still well seasoned. Burned quick but I oftentimes heated my house and then went to work outside often at night. The smokeless stuff smelled like a sickly sweet smell. I had burned the branches in a small pit out in her yard but even then, didn’t help. I took the wood for what it was worth but staying away from it now on. Most smells for wood are conifers around here and alder. They make it more comfortable smelling.
Yes, the nut was very triangular. I definitely jumped the gun on the chestnut theory...it certainly appears to be beech. Dont think Ive ever noticed the nuts like that before, but good to know. Thinking it might be a chestnut led me to a bunch of different web-pages and articles about American chestnut trees though...now I want to get and plant a bunch of chestnut trees around the property!
Certainly Beech, it's every where here, I have several of them. American Chestnut is still around and I tend to come across some while in the woods. It was devastated by the Chestnut Blight which arrived in the 1913 time frame from overseas. The blight spread quickly through the Appalachians wiping out was considered the important tree in our woods. The tree is a prolific sprouter from stumps and that is how it remains with us. Most die back from the blight when they reach 6 to 8 inches of DBH. The American Chestnut Foundation, which I was a member of for many, many years is on a mission to breed resistance to the blight and reintroduce the American giant back in to our woods and they are making significant progress. They have found some big trees that appear resistant to the blight, and are using seeds to grow seedlings . They also have backcrossed in breeding Chinese Chestnuts( which are resistant to the blight) and backcross breed them with American trees 16 times so that the American trees are 15/16 American, but have the 1/16 Chinese genes which bestow immunity. The wood is very rot resistance and was used for fencing, posts, and house sills. My house c.1880 has Chestnut sills.
Not only turkeys but deer also love beech nuts. As for chestnut, there is a great history about them and the attempt to recover. I was blessed to receive a book about the chestnut trees from a secret santa a couple years ago and it makes a great read. I think it has been borrowed right now but when I get it back I would be willing to share it with others.
