By Sandra L. Anagnostakis

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The renewed interest in chestnut tree breeding has raised questions about the availability of valuable germplasm. There have been chestnut trees of several species in this country for a long time (C. sativa, 1773; C. crenata, 1876; C. mollissima, 1903; C. henryi, 1908; C. seguinii, 1918). The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and a few private land owners have many very fine trees. In the 1930's and 40's, Arthur Graves and Donald Jones planted many of the trees now used in the U.S. for breeding and molecular biology experiments. Additions of species and hybrids were made by Hans Nienstaedt and Richard Jaynes, who both did their PhD research on chestnut. I have added others over the last 10 years. Some of my favorites are listed here to illustrate the richness of the resource. Trees are in Experiment Station plantings (which include over 1000 trees) unless otherwise noted.

Species

Japanese - Castanea crenata

1. two trees planted in 1876, probably both` Parsons' Japan' both on private land (Cheshire, Congregational Church; Old Lyme, Bee and Thistle Inn) (orchard trees)
2. USDA-PI #78626, seed from wild trees in Oguriyama, Amori-ken, Japan, planted 1933 (orchard tree
3. USDA-PI #104015, Nobeoka Eirinsho, Yokugomura, Higashi, Usuki-gun, Miyasaki-ken, Japan (32 deg. latitude, planted 1935 (orchard tree)
4. USDA-PI #104016, Numakunai Eirinsho, Ippoimura, Iwate-gun, Iwate-ken, Japan, planted 1935 (timber tree)
5. USDA-PI #113679, Iwate-ken, Japan, planted 1939 at the CT Arboretum in New London (orchard trees)

Seguine - Castanea seguinii

1. three trees of USDA-PI #70317, "Mo-lut-tsz" Chiuhwashaan, Anhwei, China, planted 1929 (dwarf species)

Chinese Timber Chinquapin - Castanea Henryi

1. USDA-PI #104058, "Chu-Lee" or "Chun Lee" "pearl chestnut," Hsiaohsing, Anhwei, China, planted 1935
2. wild seed from Nanjing, China, planted 1992

Chinese - Castanea mollissima

1. two trees of USDA-PI #70315, "hardy trees native to north-eastern China" planted 1929, one is Graves' "Mahogany" (timber trees)
2. USDA-PI #78744, "Tiger Paw" from the Fa Hua Ssu Temple near Beijing, planted 1932 (orchard tree)
3. two trees of USDA-PI #104061, `Lui An' Chekiang Province, China (28-32 deg. latitude) planted 1935 (timber trees)
4. four trees of USDA-PI #104063, `Kuei Lee' "large chestnut," Hsinteng, Chekiang Province, China, planted 1935 (timber trees)
5. two trees of USDA-PI #39721, from Tientsin, China, planted 1916 at the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford (timber trees)
6. one tree of Frank Meyer's import PI #36666, from the Pingchuan region N.E. of Beijing, planted 1917 at the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford CT (this orchard tree is the cultivar `Bartlett')
7. grove of 28 trees of USDA-PI #58602 from north eastern China, planted 1926 in Dayville. These are naturalizing vigorously.
8. seedlings (1992) of "wild chestnut" from China which are almost different enough from mollissima to make them another species

European - Castanea sativa

1. three trees from wild seed collected in the Black Forest in Germany, planted 1985
2. 15 trees from four areas with wild chestnut near Bursa, Turkey, planted 1991
3. 15 trees from seed collected in the Cavcas Biosphere Reserve in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia, planted 1994

American - Castanea dentata

1. about 300 trees, seedlings from Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, and Connecticut, kept alive by hypovirulence in the blight fungus population
2. two grafts of the tree "Scientist's Cliffs" from land of Flippo Gravett in Port Republic, Maryland; had measurable resistance to chestnut blight (see Anagnostakis, 1992)
3. 8 trees on Painter Hill Road, near Painter Ridge Rd., in Roxbury, used in Experiment Station crosses almost yearly from 1948 to 1961, may have some resistance to blight

American Chinquapins - Castanea pumila

1. var. pumila, one tree
2. var. ozarkensis, five trees
3. var. alnifolia, one tree
4. var. asheii, one tree
5. var. floridana, three trees

Hybrids of special interest

crenata X dentata

1. two trees planted 1931, one the "Smith hybrid" and one called "Hammond-86"

mollissima X dentata

1. four trees planted 1960

dentata X mollissima

1. two trees planted 1936

(mollissima X dentata) X dentata

1. two grafts of the `Clapper' tree and one tree from seed planted 1955, called `Graves'

These trees have been used by Experiment Station Staff and by American Chestnut Foundation scientist Fred Hebard and others for crosses and experiments for many years. They are likely to be here for future use as well. A list of the inventory of Experiment Station plantings (with maps) is available from the author upon request.

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References

1. Anagnostakis, S. L. 1992. Measuring resistance of chestnut trees to chestnut blight. Can. J. For. Res. 22:568-571.

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Return to "The Chestnut Story" Introduction

Chestnuts

An Historical Reference for Chestnut Introductions Into North America

Chestnuts And The Introduction Of Chestnut Blight

Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp Found On American Chestnut Trees

Valuable Chestnut Germplasm In Connecticut

Chestnut Breeding In The United States

Sources Of Chestnut Trees 1998

For more information contact Sandra L. Anagnostakis, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Box 1106, New Haven, CT 06504, phone 203-974-8498, fax 203-974-8502.

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