Ohio State University Plant Dictionary

Scientific Name:
Castanea dentata

Family:
American Chestnut

Family:
Fagaceae

Description:
American Chestnut, once a mighty hardwood tree prized for its wood and sweet-kerneled nuts, is now primarily reduced to rare stump sprouts, due to the presence of the lethal fungus Endothia parasitica (Chestnut Blight, introduced to North America in 1904 from Asia), which attacks mature trees and large saplings. The leaves of American Chestnut are alternate, elliptical to obovate, and dentate, with bristles terminating each tooth.

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