American Chestnut
Castanea dentata
The American chestnut was once the dominant canopy tree of eastern forests before chestnut blight; surviving sprouts and blight-resistant breeding keep it alive. Plant as part of restoration, knowing blight remains a risk.
- Family
- Fagaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 20–50 ft
- Spacing
- 20–40 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- June, July
- Bloom colors
- white, yellow
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, larval host, mammals, pollinators
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~127 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen
- Native states
- AL, CT, DC, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV