Castanea dentata, (Marsh) Borkh.

Form.—Height 60-100 feet, diameter 3-5 feet; trunk, in close stands with few low branches and little taper; in the open having a short trunk and rounded crown.

Leaves.—Alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed, 6-8 inches long; coarsely serrate with incurved teeth, thin, dull, yellow-green, glabrous.

Flowers.—June-July; monoecious, the staminate borne in bunches at intervals on long catkins; the pistillate borne in scattered involucres near the base of the upper catkins.

Fruit.—A large prickly bur, opening at its four sutures in early autumn; nuts usually 2-3, compressed, ½-1 inch wide, brown, sweet and edible.

Bark.—Moderately rough, with shallow fissures and flat-topped ridges, gray-brown.

Wood.—Soft, light, not strong, easily split and worked, coarse-grained, durable, red-brown with light sapwood.

Range.—Maine and Michigan southward to Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Abundant in most parts of the State; of best quality along the lower western slopes of the Alleghanies.

Habitat.—Thrives in most places in West Virginia, but is less frequently seen on limestone soils and in swampy places.

Notes.—The Chestnut tree is prized for its lumber, its nuts, its tannin, and for its numerous uses, especially on the farm. It is a very rapid grower, and sprouts freely from the base of the stump when cut down. A disease known as chestnut blight has entered the State and threatens to exterminate this tree.