Chestnut Background
Chestnut Science Resources
- American Chestnut History
- Native Range Map
- TACF Science Strategies
- TACF Resources
- Student Program
- American Chestnut Tree Identification Resources
- How to Plant Chestnuts
- Penn State Listserv – TACF Grower’s List
- Backcross Breeding Chart
- American Chestnut Cooperator’s Foundation
- Grafting Resources
- History of Chestnuts at Sugarloaf Mountain
Tree Identification
Is this an American chestnut tree?
TACF chestnut identification resources
Appalachian Trail MEGA-Transect American Chestnut Project Resources:
- American Chestnut Tree I.D. Resources for Onscreen Viewing
- Booklet Version for printing 20 pp on 5 sheets (both sides)
- Pack Along Version – for printing 8 double sided cards on 2 sheets of cardstock
The above pdf files are based on materials from TACF Southern Appalachian Regional Science Coordinator Paul Sisco’s web site and the TACF Field Guide.
Hypovirulence
Hypovirulence Treatment of Blight Cankers
Hypovirulence treatment outline prepared by Dr. Donald L. Nuss. (C. parasitica strains for tailored biocontrol of chestnut blight on individual trees)
Protocol for treatment of Sugarloaf East Field Trees August 4, 2007
Map of Sugarloaf East Field Trees treated August 4, 2007
TACF Biocontrol information
Grafting
Grafting Resources
Nut-grafting!
January and February are the best times to cut scions from American chestnut trees and graft them onto American chestnut nuts. If they grow, you will have a clone of your scion wood tree that can be planted in a new location. Carl Mayfield, shown above, is an expert on this method of propagation. He graciously allowed us to take video at his nut-grafting clinic last winter, and he wrote out detailed instructions for every step of preparation and nurture, which can be found here:
Student Program
American Chestnut Learning Materials
Links to materials available for download at no charge.
American Chestnut Educational Resources
A list of information provided by The American Chestnut Foundation.
The Legend of the American Chestnut Tree
A book written by students of the Poolesville High School, Kirby Carmack & Nicole Rodriguez, with Illustrations by Michael Torres.
The American Chestnut video by Thomas Nassif
An 18 minute video that tell the story of the chestnut and TACF, documents controlled pollination and shows the basics of hypo virulence.
American Chestnut Loaner Lab (University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and Towson University)
Download the teacher’s manual for the Chestnut Tree Lab. Loaner Lab kits made available to MD schools at no cost. A model for a national package to meet technology SOLs along with teaching chestnut science
Penn State Chestnut Growers Website
Everything a chestnut grower needs to know and much more, including back issues of the TACF Journal and other publications in pdf format.
Hypovirulence information (MDTACF)
This information covers the procedures volunteers can use to treat blight on surviving American chestnut trees.
Maryland Chapter Menu
National Facebook
Fall work is in full swing at Meadowview! 🌰 Lucinda and Dan are planting a Castanea seguinii from Dr. Hill Craddock (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) in our Castanetum, home to chestnut relatives from around the world. Nearby, we’re selecting top performers from a 2018 progeny test—thinning the stand to release the best 10% for future breeding success. #AmericanChestnut #RestorationInProgress #ChestnutResearch #ForestRestoration #MeadowviewResearchFarms #Castanetum #ScienceInTheField
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I have two American chestnuts in my yard if anyone wants clones
Slide show is too fast!
Did the gmo ones get approved yet?
North Carolina Friends, Visit The Plant in Pittsboro, NC, for their 3rd annual Chestnut Carnival on November 16, 2025.
There will be chestnut cocktails, chestnut rum cream, shelled chestnuts, roasted chestnuts, chestnut beer, pop-up vendors, live music and more!
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Join us on Friday, November 21, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (ET), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat webinar.
Our special guest, Dr. Jessica Rutkoski, is a small grains breeder with a talent for explaining the fundamentals of breeding and quantitative genetics. In her talk, she will describe how modern tools such as genomic selection and high-throughput phenotyping can speed up improvement for multiple traits—and how these technologies can be effectively applied to TACF’s American chestnut breeding program. Jessica is a quantitative geneticist and leads the winter wheat breeding program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
To register, visit: tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-faster-genetic-gain/
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🍂 As autumn arrives, chestnut trees at TACF’s Meadowview Research Farms enter dormancy, leaves turning gold and brown before falling. This cozy pause is nature’s renewal, while staff use the time to plan, prepare, and continually refine methods across the field, nursery, and lab. Dormancy sets the stage for a strong spring and a year of progress in chestnut science. 🌳
#fall #chestnuts #americanchestnutfoundation #americanchestnut
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I have two American chestnut trees in my yard in Delaware. The one is leaning bad and needs to be cut down. I would someone to contact me for you guys can get seeds and limbs
Chestnut shortbread, anyone? In the latest issue of Chestnut magazine, staff member Angus shares his recipe for shortbread topped with black walnut spread. Watch the full recipe video on YouTube and see it in print in our members-only magazine!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTW0m0R8UF4&feature=youtu.be
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