Are American Chestnut Hardwood

Hardwood comes from trees with wide leaves while softwood comes from conifers like cypress and pines.

Are american chestnut hardwood.

The blight is caused by an asian bark fungus accidentally introduced into north america on imported asiatic chestnut trees. American chestnut wood american chestnut comprised over 60 of the eastern hardwood forests when the first settlers arrived in north america. American chestnut was once the most important tree of the eastern north american hardwood forest. Because of the blight wiping out nearly all mature american chestnut trees its lumber is both rare and relatively valuable.

But also a tree that is virtually indistinguishable in form growth rate and wood quality from a pure american chestnut. In some places such as the appalachian mountains one quarter of hardwoods were chestnuts. American indians were eating the american chestnut species mainly c. Due to its wonderful stable disposition chestnut was used for every utility purpose by the colonials.

With this latest hybrid unofficially dubbed the restoration chestnut breeders feel they have a tree with enough of the chinese chestnut s natural blight resistance to have a shot at surviving. The chestnut tree is a hardwood tree. Prices are likely to be high for a domestic hardwood. Once an important hardwood timber tree the american chestnut suffered a catastrophic population collapse due to the chestnut blight a disease caused by an asian bark fungus cryphonectria parasitica formerly endothia parasitica this disease was accidentally introduced into north america on imported asiatic chestnut trees.

The most well known is the american chestnut which can appear in various shades from a pale white through medium brown which develops a reddish hue with age. Chestnut wood doesn t refer to wood from a single tree but rather from a family of trees. One fourth of this forest was composed of native chestnut trees. According to a historical publication many of the dry ridge tops of the central appalachians were so thoroughly crowded with chestnut that in early summer when their canopies were filled with creamy white flowers the mountains.

Nearly 4 billion american chestnut trees were nearly wiped out between 1900 and 1940. This was due to what is known as the chestnut blight. Wormy chestnut in particular is usually salvaged from old barns and other structures and reprocessed and sold as reclaimed lumber. At the turn of the 20th century american chestnut.