Our Kentucky Volunteers have driven and hiked many miles across the state searching wild full American Chestnuts and “Snapped” them into our data base using the free TreeSnap app. We estimate that we have observed close to 4,000 wild Americans, “Snapping” 1,543 “Observations” to date. When several small Americans are found in an area, we usually will “Snap” the largest two or three trees and enter into the comments section: “Can see X number more trees in a 30 yard radius”, or something similar.
This data helps to tell us where wild trees are growing, and the type of habitat, and also tells us size of trees being found. By far, most wild Americans observed are under 1.5” dbh (“diameter breast height, which is 4.5 feet above the soil”) which is the standard measuring point. Please DO NOT measure the tree near the base swell, which distorts the tree size for our scientists.
We are especially searching for larger wild Americans (“Large” in this case means 3” or wider diameter at breast height) … and even more importantly, we are searching for wild type Americans that are flowering, which occurs in mid to late June in Kentucky.
If you find such trees, we encourage you to utilize the TreeSnap App to enter the menu listed data, including crisp photos of top and bottom of leaves that will allow us to confirm American versus Chinese. If you find such trees or if you need assistance, please email to Ken Darnell, KY Chapter enthusiast in TreeSnap: dkdarnell@roadrunner.com and kendarnell54@gmail.com
