What is it?

[ProfessorM]

can you guess. Very sharp and prickly. Yes I said prickly

[Jimbo]

don't know what the outside is called, but there's a chestnut inside.

[ProfessorM]

good job. Yes American Chestnut. You wouldn't believe how many guys at work said sea urchin..
I planted this tree about 10 years ago and this is the first time it ever put out fruit, nuts. It is a special disease resistant American Chestnut variety . Hard to believe that once it was the most abundant food and timber tree in the east. Quoting "within a 40 year span from 1904 over 30 million acres of them were killed making it the largest ecological disaster in American history" that is like 3 billion trees and there are no more than 100 original American Chestnuts alive today as a few had resistance to the blight. They said that in their haste back then that panic logging probably destroyed many healthy resistant ones but they wanted to get the valuable lumber out of them before they died so many were killed that probably could have weathered the blight. Even to this day they are finding solitary trees out in the wild still alive. They have cross bred a couple of those remaining trees around 1962 with a Chinese variety to make it disease resistant and the hybrid I have. Pretty cool stuff.

[tynan19]

Cool read Paul.

[Slingah]

interesting.....do / can you eat those?

[FishermanTim]

When the shells harden, they hurt like hell when they fall on your head. When I was a kid we used to whip that at each other in a kind of war.
I usually buy chestnuts every year or so and roast them.
They are an acquired taste, but they are a nice snack for the fall and winter.

[ProfessorM]

Yes you can eat them, Chinese chestnuts are good too. horse chestnuts or buckeyes are not edible and outside is poisonous from what I have read. I have one of those trees too. big green nuts but not as prickly and sharp.
I can't imagine getting one of those spiny things bounced off my face, but then again we used to shoot each other with bb guns.

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by FishermanTim

When the shells harden, they hurt like hell when they fall on your head. When I was a kid we used to whip that at each other in a kind of war.
I usually buy chestnuts every year or so and roast them.
They are an acquired taste, but they are a nice snack for the fall and winter.

That's funny. We used to do the exact same thing with them in East Dedham (Hyde Park Sucks )

[Raven]

i'd like to plant one of those seeds Paul

[MakoMike]

I have a couple of immature ones on my property. Seems that they don't become infected with the blight until they are just about ready to produce fruit. When I originally bought the place I had about ten of them scattered around, now I'm down to three or four.

[justplugit]

The 8 in trim going into my attic is all clear chestnut. Beautiful stuff.

P. the new hybrid Elms are doing well against Dutch Elm Disease which almost
devastated it into distinction too. I only know of 1 that is left in the county and
i can remember reading comic books under many of their canopies in the neighborhood when i was a kid.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by JohnR

That's funny. We used to do the exact same thing with them in East Dedham (Hyde Park Sucks )

Same here....we'd fill a couple of bags with them and have a good old fashioned war

[Backbeach Jake]

They will produce fruit from sprouts from old stumps. The trees are infected as soon as the bark "splits", becomes rough rather than smooth. My FIL has some that produce seeds from those sprouts. I'll check fo you Raven. He has boards that measure 18" that trim his fireplace from old growth chestnut. Beautiful grain, wonder if it's suitible for plugs.....hmmmm.

[Slipknot]

you sure have small hands

[bloocrab]

hmmmmm......chestnuts. .....I like to snip the tip, give em a good soaking in sea/salt mixed water, then roast em.

You know it's a precious seed when it's protected like that!!!

[Jenn]

Havent seen one of those since I was a kid......but I will never forget and mistake it for an urchin!

Thanks for sharing!

Oh and oddly enough I just watched a show on PBS called the Botany of Desire. You should check it out!

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by Jenn

I just watched a show on PBS called the Botany of Desire. You should check it out!

Good show and very interesting, maybe we should all desire American Chestnuts and Elms trees?

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by PRBuzz

Good show and very interesting, maybe we should all desire American Chestnuts and Elms trees?

No not all of us...remember we need to be more bio diverse!

[MAC]

Originally Posted by Slipknot

you sure have small hands

Well he is only 4' tall.

[ProfessorM]

Thanks Dave. Most tell me I have big hands for my size. But compared to Bruces first baseman's mitt's They are puny. Those are enormous nuts though.

I saw the PBS show. I watched the marijuana episode. Way more advanced than when I used to do it. Very interesting show.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

Thanks Dave. Most tell me I have big hands for my size. But compared to Bruces first baseman's mitt's They are puny. Those are enormous nuts though.

I saw the PBS show. I watched the marijuana episode. Way more advanced than when I used to do it. Very interesting show.

P. you didn't know it makes your hands larger?

[Jimbo]

I have a few trees behind my house that drop fruit that looks about the same size as the chestnut, only the outer part is smooth and doesn't have the stickers. My neighbor said they were hickory. I read that animals like the nuts, I can vouch for the squirrels, but are they edible by humans? It's a good sized nut.

About the chestnuts, we'd get my dad to drill a hole in them then we'd take lace about a 2-3' piece of string through it. Swing it around sort of like a sling Accuracy wasn't that good, but once you really got that thing swinging and let go it went pretty far.

[ProfessorM]

Most of the old homes built through out NE used chestnut for the beams and support features.