OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Castanea dentata   FAMILY Fagaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Castanea dentata   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Castanea dentata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 055-02-001:

Castanea dentata   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Castanea dentata

 

COMMON NAME:
American Chestnut


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_263

        

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_cade12_001_lvd

        

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm090125_002

January    Greenville County    SC

Paris Mountain State Park

SC State Champion Tree. Bark smooth when young, becoming furrowed with age, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_dentata_pine_mtn_1

May        

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm0407s_17

July    Pickens County    SC

Jocassee Gorges

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm070703_126

July    Greene County    TN

Staminate flowers in upright catkins 6-8" long, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm070703_128

July    Greene County    TN

Its long sharply-toothed leaves should make this tree distinctive, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm070703_129

July    Greene County    TN

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm070703_134

July    Greene County    TN

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm180821_3932

August    Jackson County    NC

Whiteside Mountain

Twigs gray to shiny chestnut brown, glabrous, with numerous white lenticels, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_castanea_dentata_2

August        

Leaves mostly 5-9" long, light green, glabrous, long-pointed, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE leaves of Chestnut and Sawtooth Oak

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

Ron Lance    rwl_castanea_dentata

August    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm080924_139

September    Haywood County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Fruits split along 4 sutures, enclosing 3 nuts, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm080924_141

September    Haywood County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Two or more nuts are enclosed in a spiny bur 2-3" across, maturing Sept-Oct, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    jkm201014_7681

October    Spartanburg County    SC

In cultivation

Crossed and backcrossed to retain Chinese chestnut's blight-resistent genes.

image of Castanea dentata, American Chestnut

JK Marlow    s071016_d

October    Oconee County    SC

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Castanea dentata   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Castanea dentata   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Castanea dentata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 055-02-001:
Castanea dentata   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Castanea dentata

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

285

Tree
Perennial
Monoecious

Habitat: Mesic and xeric forests, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (rare in Coastal Plain)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Summer
Creamy-white
4-6 sepals
Petals absent
12(-18) stamens in staminate flowers
Unisexual

Flowers in catkins

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Brown
Nut

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME: