Section 06

The Chestnut

A tree that made up a quarter of the canopy in places was functionally removed within fifty years of the blight being identified. Oak and hickory filled the gap in the canopy but not in the food supply. The root systems survive and send up shoots that die before maturity, which is why the species is not quite extinct.

• 06.1Castanea dentataA quarter of the canopy in places, gone within fifty years of the blight identified at the Bronx Zoo in 1904.
• 06.2What replaced itOak and hickory filled the gap, and the animals that depended on the mast did not get an equivalent.
• 06.3The stumps still sproutRoot systems survive and send up shoots that die before maturity, which is why the species is not quite extinct.