| Chestnuts have been cultivated
for nuts and wood for thousands of years. The name Castanea is believed
to come from Kastanea, a city in Pontus, Turkey. European Chestnuts
(Castanea sativa) probably originated in Southern Russia in the Caucasus
mountains, between the Black and the Caspian Seas. They were planted
throughout the Roman Empire, and now grow wild in Italy, France, Spain
and Greece. Chestnuts are also important in Asia, where there are four
native species (Castanea mollissima, C. henryi, C. seguinii and C.
crenata).
In North America, pollen records from the latest
interglacial period show that the American chestnut tree, Castanea
dentata, was present on Long Island 30,000 to 50,000 years ago. American
Chestnut trees were once found all along the Appalachian mountain range,
from Portland, Maine to Northern Georgia. Within this area it grew in
mixed, hardwood forests, usually on high sandy land, gravel ridges or
mountain slopes that were wholly, or nearly free from limestone. In the
last 150 years it has been planted outside its range in favorable spots
(Michigan, Wisconsin) where it had become a forest tree, protected from
chestnut blight disease by geography until only recently as even here it
has been wiped out by the blight. American chinquapins, a smaller native
chestnut relative, Castanea pumila, share the former southern part of
the range with American chestnut from Pennsylvania south and still exist
today.
Now all but wiped out in the United States, the
chestnut tree became a victim of the virulent chestnut blight. Even with
this blight, there is strong optimism that the Castanea dentata tree
(North American chestnut's botanical name), through a diligent effort to
seek out and propagate trees showing evidence of strong resistance to
the blight, has a sufficient chance of recovery. For complete details on
the history of this specie and the re-propagation efforts, visit the
American Chestnut Foundation:
http://www.acf.org. In
its prime, North American chestnut accounted for more than one-fourth of
all hardwood sawn timber in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. It was a
highly valued tree for its durable wood, delicious chestnuts and tannin,
used to tan leather, derived from both the bark and the wood. It was a
popular choice for jobs where durability counted, such as fence posts,
telephone poles and railroad ties, but it also was used for furniture,
cabinetry, flooring and woodwork. Current
supplies of North American chestnut come almost completely from dead
trees, standing or fallen. It is a very durable tree and the hardwood
will remain even after the sapwood is destroyed. The chestnut wood most
often sold is wormy chestnut as the tree, long ago has been attacked by
the blight and then subsequently fallen and invaded by insects - hence
the worm holes and character marks. European
chestnut is also praised for its durable heartwood. Its uses include
furniture and cabinetry, flooring and specialty items. It is also an
excellent wood for high-durability uses such as fencing and gates as
well as staves used to make barrels for holding juice, wine and other
foodstuffs. With the same look and graining as
North American chestnut, WFI is proud to offer European Chestnut from
our source mills in the Caucasian region of Turkey/Georgia - the
birthplace of Chestnut ! Now you can get new chestnut flooring w/o
wormholes for a fraction of the price of the reclaimed offerings ! |
