3.5 billion American chestnut trees, once the monarchs of the Eastern forests, were wiped out by a blight. Now, Science has recovered their genealogy from the edge of doom.
"...an American chestnut revival may be imminent. Scientists using traditional plant breeding techniques are on the verge of a breakthrough. In fact, Smith smiles and shares a little secret: the "holy grail" of American chestnut trees – a hybrid supertree fully resistant to the blight – is alive and growing down south.
Hidden on a country road that winds through rural Meadowview, Va., is a 93-acre plot of ground that holds the future of the American chestnut: about 120 hybrid saplings. The trees – going on two years old and four feet tall – are considered "fully blight resistant" and are thriving.
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1 comment:
Nostalgia !!!
Many a good battle was fought some 50 or so years ago, going to and fro Salina school,
under the spreading chestnut tree on Bundy street. Many a necklace was made after we scooped up the remains and carted them home. No trace of that wonderful, old tree
was in evidence on a drive through there a year or so ago.
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