Never heard of the butternut tree? Rest easy; most Americans haven’t. Yet this species qualifies easily to be lumped into the group of classic North American trees — right up there with sugar maple, the American chestnut, the American elm, the eastern white pine and the pinon pine.
But like the eastern hemlock, the flowering dogwood, the beech, white pines and a host of other tree species, the butternut is dying out as a viable member of the Northeastern forest. This New York Times article (my good friend Dave provided the link) explains what’s going on.
The culprit? The fungal disease Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum, causes bark cankers that eventually kill.
The fungus, however, was only recently described as a species and while it shows all the marks of having been introduced to North America, it has not yet been found anywhere but this continent.
Other tree-killing insects and diseases: the gypsy moth, the hemlock wolly adelgid, white pine rust, pine weevils, beech bark disease.
Here’s an overview of a few of what Pennsylvania state foresters call “forest pests.”
And here’s another more comprehensive listing of forest insects, invasive plant species, tree diseases and “other agents.” You can also view some cool images at this site.
We used to have five butternut trees here on the northern end of Brush Mountain, including one right next to my house, but they’ve all succumbed to the disease. Unlike American chestnuts, they don’t re-sprout from the roots. That article was the first encouraging thing I’ve seen on butternut — I figured the species was doomed.
I remember seeing the species in the Miller nursery catalog the same year I purchased my paw paw seedlings. What do the nuts taste like?
There are several American Chestnut Foundation growers over this way, and I believe there’s a chestnut hybridization nursery near Weatherly in Carbon County, Pa.
Ya know, it’s been so many years since I’ve eaten a butternut, I can’t exactly recall the taste. A less pungent, sweeter version of black walnut, I think.
I assume that the “chestnuts” I’m seeing in groceries these days (in eastern PA) are from the horse-chestnut? Around the year 2000, a friend discovered American chestnut trees producing fruit (nuts) on a pitch pine/oak ridgetop forest in northern Schuylkill County. I’m not sure what eventually became of the trees, which had trunks that were easily 4 to 5 inches in diameter.
I may be wrong, but I think the chestnuts you find in the grocery store are imported European chestnuts. I’ve seen them sold in New York too… the prices are quite high.
Howard, I think you’re right. I saw yesterday a store display filled with these chestnuts.
Actually, they’re most likely Chinese chestnuts, from trees grown right here in the USA. That’s the species the blight rode in on, I think. Horse chestnuts are poisonous.
I stand corrected. Noteworthy is the Chinese chestnut grove a few miles from where I sit. I wrote a small feature article about the farm a decade or so ago and later learned that the son of the farm’s founder planned to resume harvesting the nuts.
I have a butternut tree in my side yard. It is taller than my 2 story house, very healthy and beautiful.
just thought you might like to know. I’m not sure what it is doing in this county, it gets hit by a hard freeze most springs. This year we are ok, so far, with about 2 weeks till we are safe.
The locals call it a flat walnut.
I am open to research if someone wanted to check this tree out.
Trish
I also have a butternut tree hanging out in my backyard too. So does my neighbor. Both trees are taller than my 3 story house. Both seem to be healthy and cancer free.
Cat