Castanea dentata x mollissima (Dunstan chestnut)

Castanea dentata x mollissima (Dunstan chestnut). Hybrid American Chestnut Project. , Family: Fagaceae (Beech Family), Distribution: Dunstan chestnut trees are being successfully planted and grown throughout the eastern United States, from zones 5-9., Size: 40-60 feet tall, with 30-40 foot spread., Habitat/Description/History: Dunstan chestnuts prefer south slopes with good air circulation and water drainage; however, sheltered north-facing slopes may be better in cold, windy places. Avoid frost pockets and low-lying sites that may be too wet., Dunstan chestnuts were bred in 1950 by Dr. Robert Dunstan, a member of the Northern Nut Growers Association. The main advantage to growing Dunstan hybrid chestnuts is that they are highly resistant to the chestnut blight fungus yet retain important traits of our native trees. Insect pollinators and at least two trees are required for fruit set and nut production. They produce high-quality food for deer, turkey, bear, and other wildlife., Trees flower from June - early July and produce fruits from late August - early November, depending on location. The white to cream-colored flowers are borne in long, slender inflorescences called catkins, with some trees having only males and others bearing flowers of both sexes. Flowers have a distinctive, rather unpleasant, cloying odor., According to the American Chestnut Foundation and other sources, the American chestnut prospered for 40 million years, eventually dominating the forests of the Eastern United States where its rot-resistant, tough lumber was important for log cabins, flooring, furniture, even railway ties. Nuts served as food for people and wildlife and as forage for hogs and cattle. Its tannins were used for tanning leather. This mainstay of early American life was unfortunately wiped out when the chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) was brought in with imported Japanese chestnuts in 1904. Chestnut blight then infected and killed some 4 billion trees within 40 years, changing the eastern forest ecology forever. Root systems of our native trees may remain alive for years and continue sending up young shoots. However, eventually trees become infected and above-ground portions are killed by the fungus because it girdles the tree by destroying cambium cells that transport nutrients up and down the tree., Ethnobotanical Uses: Dunstan hybrid trees have been bred for nut size and taste rather than timber qualities. Dunstan chestnuts are large and sweet, not bitter, and peel easily. They may produce nuts within 3-5 years of planting. When 10 years or so of age, they may produce some 20 pounds of nuts/tree, and when mature, as much as 50-100 pounds of nuts per tree., These trees were donated by West-Mon-Ty Resource Conservation and Development Hybrid American Chestnut Project. , Souces of information: West-Mon-Ty RC&D, American Chestnut Foundation, and Chestnut Hill Nursery