Carolinas News

The Chestnut Tree Orchard in The Park at Glassy

The Park at Glassy is a beautiful, expansive, woodland sanctuary below the upper post office and the Children’s Village near the top of Glassy Mountain. It comprises 17 acres of sunny open areas, walking paths, shaded woodland trails, a waterfall, and several 100-yr old trees. Well-behaved dogs can roam off-leash, and attractive native plants, such as trillium, bloodroot, and devil’s walking stick bloom at various times. The upper level of the park is home to the Larry Recknagel Chestnut Tree Orchard.

In 2003, Larry Recknagel was a new Glassy resident concerned about the near-extinction of the American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) due to blight. Working with Dr. Paul Sisco from The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF), he realized that the Park area would be appropriate for a selective breeding test orchard to renew the American chestnut tree. In 2008, after conquering multiple levels of bureaucracy, they got permission to move forward. A community of Glassy volunteers helped to prepare the land and plant 100 trees. Since the Chinese chestnut tree was resistant to the fungus, the experimental trees were pure Chinese, Chinese-American crosses and pure American chestnuts.

After several years, they inoculated the experimental trees with chestnut blight to evaluate their resistance. Those with little or no resistance were removed. Today, 7 trees of various sizes remain, and selective breeding studies continue with TACF and Clemson University. Unfortunately, Larry Recknagel passed away in 2010 and didn’t get to see the large, resistant, surviving chestnut trees spreading thousands of chestnuts over the orchard area.

The loss of the American chestnut tree earned recognition as one of the worst ecological disasters of the 20th century. The Asian fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) that causes chestnut blight was first identified in 1904 on trees in the Bronx zoo. By the 1950s, about four to five billion chestnut trees (90-99% of the population) had died. The demise of the trees also led to decreased numbers of birds, mammals, and insects that depended on them for food and shelter.

Losing the trees was also a social disaster that changed the lives of many people. The lumber had been an excellent source of income. The tree became known as the “cradle to grave” tree because the wood could be used for cradles and caskets, other furniture, railroad ties, fences, shingles, and telephone poles. “Chestnutting”, or gathering the nuts, was a popular social activity and a source of food and income; railroad cars loaded with nuts would cross the country from rural areas to big cities.

Today, TACF and other groups still focus on restoring native chestnut trees in their original range from Maine to Mississippi. These efforts use a three-pronged approach known as 3BUR—Breeding, Biocontrol, and Biotechnology United for Restoration. The hybrid trees in the Park at Glassy are part of the breeding program. Newer research on genetically engineered resistance awaits government approval to introduce engineered trees into the wild.

When you visit the Park at Glassy, take some time to learn more from the TACF sign about the chestnut orchard and note the various chestnut trees.

The TACF sign explaining the Larry Recknagel Chestnut Tree orchard. SC

The TACF sign explaining the Larry Recknagel Chestnut Tree orchard.

In the fall, spiny chestnut burrs and nuts cover the ground; they are a favorite of the local squirrels, birds, deer, and bear. The effect of the blight is most obvious in winter; the stunted main trunks and multiple large side sprouts are typical on the larger trees.

The chestnut tree showing the effect of the blight on its growth. SC

The chestnut tree showing the effect of the blight on its growth.

Not knowing about the research effort, some people suggested cutting them down because of their appearance. In the spring, the white male and female flowers stand out.

Female flowers on American Chestnut Tree. SC.

Female flowers on American Chestnut Tree.

Paper bags over the reproductive organs control pollination as part of the selective breeding program. The seeds that were generated last year are being planted in the greenhouse of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the US forest Services’ Resistance Screening Center in Asheville.

Bags covering reproductive organs to control pollination.

Bags covering reproductive organs to control pollination.

Thanks to the foresight of Larry Recknagel 20 years ago and a community of volunteers, the Park at Glassy has been part of an ongoing research effort to reestablish the American chestnut tree in its native range. We hope that the research contributes to the successful reintroduction of this beautiful tree.

Editor’s Note: The Cliffs at Glassy is a community west of Landrum, SC. This article, by Betty Kuhnert, was originally published in Stroll (The Cliffs Communities) Magazine, May 2023, page 58-59.   Dr. Paul Kuhnert, Dr. Paul Sisco, Dr. David Vaughn, and Mrs. Susan Recknagel contributed to the article. Dr. Paul Sisco started working with Larry Recknagel in 2003.  Larry and a group of Glassy volunteers prepared the ground and installed the orchard in 2008. The Stroll Magazine is a product of The N2 Company, 5051 New Center Drive, Wilmington, NC, 28403

 

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It's time to get growing this week at Meadowview Research Farms! Alongside seeds harvested from Meadowview Research Farms, we’re also planting seeds sourced from partner pollination programs across the American chestnut range. The seeds have been stratified in coolers since being harvested last fall. The process of stratification in coolers mimic natural conditions of moisture and cool temperatures to prepare them for germination. Each seed is carefully placed into its designated pot based on its experiment, covered, and watered in—officially beginning the germination process! Come back and check out the progress soon!

#propagation #seeds #recurrentgenomicselection #americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #prepping #smallstemassay #meadowviewresearchfarms
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For all you chestnut nerds out there, here's a great read!

From the abstract: Over a century after two introduced pathogens decimated American chestnut populations, breeding programs continue to incorporate resistance from Chinese chestnut to recover self-sustaining populations. Due to complex genetics of chestnut blight resistance, it is challenging to obtain trees with sufficient resistance and competitive growth. We developed high quality reference genomes for Chinese and American chestnut and leveraged large disease phenotype and genotype datasets to develop accurate genomic selection.

View the full abstract and download a PDF of the study here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.30.635736v1.article-info
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For all you chestnut nerds out there, heres a great read! From the abstract: Over a century after two introduced pathogens decimated American chestnut populations, breeding programs continue to incorporate resistance from Chinese chestnut to recover self-sustaining populations. Due to complex genetics of chestnut blight resistance, it is challenging to obtain trees with sufficient resistance and competitive growth. We developed high quality reference genomes for Chinese and American chestnut and leveraged large disease phenotype and genotype datasets to develop accurate genomic selection. View the full abstract and download a PDF of the study here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.30.635736v1.article-info

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

I hope there is a real breakthrough in my lifetime

Is there any ai programs that you can feed the dna of each tree and ai will tell you which crosses will do best to increase resistance on each cross ?

Is it true that the American Truffle mycelium help the trees fend off blight?

Over the past few days, the Meadowview Research Farms team has been hard at work preparing pots to sow seeds for this year's experiments! These seeds play a vital role in Recurrent Genomic Selection, Small Stem Assays, and other trials. With a greenhouse capacity of over 5,000 trees, we’re ready for another year of innovative research. The pot-filling process begins with adding fertilizer to the growing media and filling each pot to the top, ensuring they are ready for sowing. Once all the pots are filled, the tagging process begins. Each pot receives a label indicating its tree ID, genotype, and corresponding experiment. The tagging process is critical as it helps differentiate each pot's journey and helps maintain organization in the greenhouse. Stay tuned for the next post on sowing!

#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #prepping #smallstemassay
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Join Lauren as she demonstrates the process of the Generational Passthrough experiment. It starts with the initial inoculation and placement of cryphonectria plugs into young seedlings. She then observes the cankers' development over a two-week period. Next, Lauren extracts the cryphonectria from these cankers, trims and sections the stem into agar for culture and subculture, repeating these steps across ten generations. Finally, she examines the initial and final cultures, where the genome sequence provides crucial insights into the changes of the cryphonectria. Lauren's analysis aims to detect any genotype alterations in the chestnut trees and observe potential evolution in the cryphonectria.

Come back and check out our next post on “Follow the Roots”!

#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #ConservationScience #dayinthelife
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Join Lauren as she demonstrates the process of the Generational Passthrough experiment. It starts with the initial inoculation and placement of cryphonectria plugs into young seedlings. She then observes the cankers development over a two-week period. Next, Lauren extracts the cryphonectria from these cankers, trims and sections the stem into agar for culture and subculture, repeating these steps across ten generations. Finally, she examines the initial and final cultures, where the genome sequence provides crucial insights into the changes of the cryphonectria. Laurens analysis aims to detect any genotype alterations in the chestnut trees and observe potential evolution in the cryphonectria.Come back and check out our next post on “Follow the Roots”!#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #ConservationScience #dayinthelifeImage attachment

At Meadowview Research Farms the chestnut orchards go dormant in the winter, but any seedlings that haven't been planted are allowed to go dormant as well! Potted seedlings are "overwintered" to protect their roots from freezing, ensuring they survive to the next growing season. Trees in the field are insulated from the frigid temperatures by the thermal mass of the soil surrounding their roots, but seedlings do not have the same protection being in small pots. MRF places trees closely together inside of thick vinyl tents to protect potted seedling roots from the low temperatures outside and adds heaters for particularly cold weather. Seedlings for certain research projects also remain dormant indoors in garages that are kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the winter. The temperatures have remained consistently low for the past few weeks, but the seedlings are happily waiting out the winter for the next growing season to arrive.

#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch
... See MoreSee Less

At Meadowview Research Farms the chestnut orchards go dormant in the winter, but any seedlings that havent been planted are allowed to go dormant as well! Potted seedlings are overwintered to protect their roots from freezing, ensuring they survive to the next growing season. Trees in the field are insulated from the frigid temperatures by the thermal mass of the soil surrounding their roots, but seedlings do not have the same protection being in small pots. MRF places trees closely together inside of thick vinyl tents to protect potted seedling roots from the low temperatures outside and adds heaters for particularly cold weather. Seedlings for certain research projects also remain dormant indoors in garages that are kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the winter. The temperatures have remained consistently low for the past few weeks, but the seedlings are happily waiting out the winter for the next growing season to arrive.  #americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

Fascinating info!

I messaged the Carolinas chapters. The last activity was Dec 2023 though . I’d like to plant some chestnut trees around my property but can’t afford the 300 dollar fee/ donation. Could I just get a few ?

I like to say that they've gone to winter quarters.

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