Modestly large American chestnut (Castanea dentata), Luzerne County, within the Dry Land Hill parcel of the Bear Creek Preserve.
American chestnuts were once among the most common forest trees in eastern North America. A blight early in the twentieth century eliminated most of the trees; however, the root systems continue to produce new growth. The young trees usually succumb to the blight before reaching maturity.
This tree here, larger and better developed than most American chestnuts, will likely perish. Its bark is strewn with the telltale orange, vertical cracks of the blight fungus. (The cracks are visible here.)
The American Chestnut Foundation and other organizations are working to develop a blight-resistant strain.
