I thought I would share three small file size pics of what I believe to be a chestnut stump and its “companion tree” that is growing on a mountainside in East Granby, CT. The remnant stump measures 30 inches in diameter at the widest point, which I'm guessing is what's left of a trunk portion and a large branch. There seems to be remnants of two other branches on the ground. The Sweet Birch that evidently took root on or in a hollow of the trunk is now about 12 to 13 inches DBH if you were to measure it at 54 inches from the root collar.
Above – Birch grows out of an old American chestnut stump in north central Connecticut. Click on photo to view larger version. Photo by Gayle Kida
A long abandoned unpaved old town or farm road now serves as a trail, which loops around this stump. There is a fieldstone chimney about 150 yards down the trail/road, and stone walls. I'm guessing this was a big chestnut back when people traveled the road a hundred years ago, a tree spared when the forest was cleared for pasture. The farmer who lived nearby might have collected the nuts each fall. Across the road from the chimney there are a few American
chestnut sprouts, perhaps he also planted a few nuts when the big tree was dying around 1920 or so. It's also fun to imagine how the growing Sweet Birch and its chestnut “pot” looked over the decades.
Gayle Kida
CT Chapter
Above – Side view of a Birch growing out of an old American chestnut stump in north central Connecticut.
Below – another angle of the Birch growing out from the chestnut “pot”. Click on either photo to view larger version. Both photos by Gayle Kida
