Drive by Chestnut sighting

I saw this a few days ago a couple towns over from me. First time in my life that I’m aware of. I’m not sure if it’s American, Dunstan hybrid or Chinese but it caught my attention. The catkins are what gave it away. There’s actually 2 trees here in this person’s backyard about 60 feet apart.
EDIT: After further research I don't think it's an American Chestnut. The edges of the leaves don't appear serrated to me and the top side of the leaf is somewhat glossy. From what I've read, these features point to a Chinese Chestnut.
I had some hope that it was American based on the fact that Chestnut Street itself is a short distance away... Historically there were a lot of Chestnuts in the vicinity. At least I finally saw something of a Chestnut Maybe one day I'll see the real deal growing wild on some remote hillside.

 

Yep, Chinese. I've never run into an American in a town, only in the mountains.

 

Thanks for confirming for me. I figured it was a stretch but I’m still happy to have spotted it. I can’t say I’ve seen any others in my travels.

 

What a week. After a false alarm I was coming home from work today and found this. This is the REAL DEAL! American Chestnut! First one I’ve ever seen, about 3 miles from my house. There’s actually 2 separate trees here too.

 

We have one at work that is a bit of a mess. I found it last year and it has the serrated leaf edges. I was planning on taking a few seed pods home to plant, but I stupidly picked up the spikey pod and got some burrs in my thumb. That ended that venture.

 

Definitely looks like an American. Quite the canker there.

I have 60 hybrid(?) seedlings in a raised bed right now. I’m hoping they have at least some American genes.

 

For me, seeing the serrated leaves made me pull over to take a closer look. Once I saw the canker it sealed the deal. I know European Chestnuts are also susceptible to the blight but the chances of a European Chestnut growing alongside the road (in this area anyway) are slim. Let us know how your hybrids do long term and good luck!

 

My brother has a bunch more in pots. These are from trees growing in Greece, NY.

 

They look pretty healthy. So the parent trees are some kind of hybrid Chestnut that are resistant to the blight? I'd love to try growing some myself.

 

We think so, yes. The parent trees are at least 40 years old and make a ton of nuts annually. One is similar to a Chinese chestnut in terms of branching, but the other is more American-like. I haven’t seen the trees close up in a while.

They are a mystery, really. I’m assuming some sort of Euro/American/Chinese hybrid that has lucked out. This is our first year growing the seedlings.

 

I just found another one. This one a couple miles from work, another sunny roadside find.

 

And another 1/4 mile further up the road!

 

Eric Schamell - You are Mr. American Chestnut!

 

Wow! Do you have sandy soil up there? There’s something going on for sure.

See if you can find some chestnuts this fall and post some pics. Maybe there’s a naturally resistant parent tree around that area and these are the offspring.

 

These look like stump sprouts, but it would still be good to look for burrs in a month or so.

 

These trees from today are in sandy/rocky soil, power company property right along a public road. The ones yesterday were roadside as well, 30 miles away in rocky soil on top of a small mountain. I’m definitely going to keep a close eye on both these locations.

 

You can help the ACF restore the American Chestnut.
Identifying American Chestnut Trees | The American Chestnut Foundation

 

Would you believe me if I told you I found ANOTHER one today? Of course not, so here’s the proof:

 

This last one does not appear to be a stump sprout. There are half a dozen small Chestnuts growing along this residential road, most were recently cut down with blight visible at the base. I cannot believe how many I’m finding since yesterday...