August 1, 2014
American Chestnut (cultivar), Castanea dentata
These spiky balls contain the edible seeds of one of North Amereica's most beloved trees, the American Chestnut. In about 1900 the entire population of these trees was devastated by the chestnut blight, an accidental import from Japan. The tree in this photo and several other chestnuts growing in the Butterfly Meadow near Neville Place, are cultivars that have been crossed with blight-resistant Chinese Chestnuts, so that they retain the appearance of American Chestnuts, but have the blight resistance.