American chestnuts in a National Park!
You're thinking, “must be Shenandoah, Blue Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains …” but what if you were told it's Weir Farm in suburban Connecticut!
Wilton Resident David Hoyt located this large American chestnut right alongside the trail at Weir Farm – the only National Park Service site in CT. The tree is in a rocky area surrounded by Mountain Laurel, other chestnut and other hardwoods such as Oak and Beech. Finding such a large and significant American chestnut in a National Park is a good find. Kudos to David Hoyt for being prepared (knowing what the leaves looked like) and spreading the word.
David Hoyt shows off prize tree
This is not the only chestnut identified in Wilton. Past Chapter President Bill Adamsen had reported finding trees in many locations in Wilton, including the Wilton Town Forest. He says a drive around town at the right time of year shows there remain dozens of locations where chestnut can be found. One easy to access location is Deforest Drive [click to open]where there is an entire cluster of trees right alongside the road. But there are trees that can be found all over town if you just keep your eyes open.
For the tree at Weir farm, Bill and David plan to keep tabs on the tree as a possible pollination target. It is certainly large enough to flower and produce fruit … needing only the extra daylight forest trees seldom get to produce a crop.
![Deforest Drive [click to open]](http://cttacf.org/images/WiltonChestnut_800pxw.jpg){kind=link}