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Bringing Back the Lost American Chestnut Tree

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American chestnut trees were all over the US at the end of the 19th century until the fungus wiped most of them out. Scientists have been trying to figure out ways to bring those endangered American chestnuts back to their former glory.
Hosted by: Olivia Gordon
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Опубликовано:

26 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 809

@GetMeThere1 5 лет назад

Such a shame. When I was a kid in the 60's my parents bought a farm in southern NY. I noticed lots of very decayed and very large stumps throughout the property, and I asked an old-timer what they were -- that's when I first found out about the American Chestnut. It's a FANTASTIC wood and makes delicious nuts that supported a HUGE amount of wildlife -- AND farmers, who could actually collect them from the woods as food for livestock (and, of course, for themselves). It was a DEVASTATING loss to eastern Americans -- at about the same time as the Great Depression. AND....I also have to say, when we bought the farm there were ALSO plenty of live, majestic elms. The old-timer taught me how to split wood, and I always remarked to him how hard the elm was to split, because it was so stringy. He pointed to our old barn, with horse stalls for draught horses, and told me all the side boards on the stalls were made from elm, so that the horses couldn't "chip away" at the wood when kicking it. Elm makes a great and useful wood, too. All those beautiful elms around our house and pond then are now long disappeared. At my age, I've lived through a TERRIBLE forest destruction -- and it continues: now Ash trees in the region are being destroyed and are expected to go extinct in the region. Beech is also under heavy attack. It's an inestimable shame to someone like me, who loves the eastern forests.

@chadwickmacarthur4760 5 лет назад

For a Yankee your a good person ..we should respect the world God has gave us ..I grew up on a farm as well n my daddy taght me many thing his daddy had taght him ..I respect you sir trees are important

@vincentvega5686 5 лет назад

american chestnut wood was also extremely rot resistant, made beautiful furniture, and was a preferred firewood because it burned hot with minimal smoke.

@GetMeThere1 5 лет назад

@@vincentvega5686 Right. That's why there were still stumps for me to see in the late 60s. By the late 70s they were completely gone. They had probably died in the 30s or 40s.

@chadwickmacarthur4760 5 лет назад

@@2186kmr I Kno brother y'all ain't all vegan weirdos ..some of y'all got the heart of the south in ya and a rifle in hand and a Bible in the other

@dickmorhead6165 5 лет назад

Laurel wilt and citrus greening are very bad in Florida.

@garywiseman5080 5 лет назад

“Chestnuts roasting ‘oer an open fire...” Baby chestnuts still come up on my farm, only to die in a few years. You can still see the spots in the forest where the huge canopies used to be. Please bring them back.

@ikichullo 3 года назад

Please! You can buy gmo seeds for American Chestnut that is resistant to blight.

@WildwoodClaire1 5 лет назад

Back in the late 1970s, while working as a field geologist in Eastern Kentucky, I saw American Chestnut saplings growing from old stumps. The taller ones, some perhaps eight feet in height, invariably exhibited the cankers shown in this video at 1:19.

@punkyroo 5 лет назад

That's so sad. :(

@PaulaJBean 5 лет назад

Maybe a mutation will develop resistance in the future.

@zorkmid1083 5 лет назад

@@PaulaJBean Unfortunately, the chestnuts have to reach their reproductive stage for a mutation to be discovered and propagated.

@CaptainMcAwesomepan 5 лет назад

@@zorkmid1083 I'm no scientist, but surely a mutation could occur at any stage of the plants life, and in the event it was a fungal resistance, it could exist long enough to propagate no?

@jerry3790 5 лет назад

CaptainMcAwesomepan No a mutation can only occur when the plant is first fertilised (in the reproductive context)

@thomasmanning829 2 года назад

American Chestnut wood was one of the most desirable wood for construction and it is durable in the soil and was used often for fence posts, making American Chestnut a very desirable tree for farmers and ranchers. 30 years ago I planted many on my Oregon coast property. There is no blight there and the trees are thriving.

@ravenbishop5232 2 года назад

Thanks. I hope they live for hundreds of years

@devmeistersuperprecision4155 9 месяцев назад

The trees are awsome in silvaculture plans. The roasting of chestnuts is missed. The forests were beautiful! I am trying to set up new silvaculture plan. The ash and hemlock are issues. Some of the new rock maple is a Cornell variety bred for high sugar. Trees are life!!! Bring em all back!!!! And how about splicing the sugar cane gene into the rock maple!!! Super high sugar reduces our boil time and work!

@alilabeebalkoka 5 лет назад

Time for more GMO trees! Save the Elm and Chestnut! Revival of ancient Forest trees is needed!

@Rfgarvis 5 лет назад

Matthew Madruga is in

@johnkelly7757 5 лет назад

@Matthew Madruga yay for the ginkgo biloba!!

@sahinyasar9119 5 лет назад

Yes we need Lepidodendron scale tree either

@edgarsmittenheighnjenkson9226 5 лет назад

But GMOs are bad m'kay. GMOs will give you autism m'kay.

@PaulaJBean 5 лет назад

GreenPeace would not agree.

@punkyroo 5 лет назад

I hate how GMOs are vilified. This is another great example of using the technology for good!

@zorkmid1083 5 лет назад

One of the problems is how the corporations are using it as a club against farmers who aren't buying in.

@Proximitron 5 лет назад

It's hard for people to understand if GMOs are actually used for good, because currently most companys don't. Good: Making a planet resistant, higher yield, more healthy nutriens. Bad: Making a plant resistant to a broad band killer poison and then using that poison (that is strong enough to even kill humans) to spray the plants and kill anything beside the modified plant. The reason GMOs are vilified is because how it is used today mostly.

@GilgameshEthics 5 лет назад

Or you could introduce these changes into the wild and it have a ton of unintended consequences. Just like all those other times we tried to introduce things into the wild. Like I don't know, when we brought those asian trees over in the first place, causing the blight to spread. Just seems like when we meddle, we make it worse in ways we did not intend; nor see coming.

@GilgameshEthics 5 лет назад

I'm not for vilifying GMOS. But i'm not for playing with the natural ecosystems. I don't see how folks find this any different than when we introduced the weasels to get rid of the snakes, then the weasels became a problem so we set the cats on them, now the cats are a problem tgearing up australia and we gotta release guys with guns on them. Maybe we should revive the chestnut, in zoo's.

@Tfin 5 лет назад

They just need to accidentally let some out.

@TizonaAmanthia 5 лет назад

a budding 100 year ecosystem without a tree, stacked against a 10s of THOUSANDS of year old ecostystm that's been deprived of it for a mere century. I dunno, perspective is poweful

@ewoodley82 5 лет назад

So is bias..... Science is pure, scientists, rarely so

@TizonaAmanthia 5 лет назад

@@ewoodley82 So true, so very true. If you admit and accept you have bias, does that make you more, or less biased than those who do not admit?

@The_Savage_Wombat 5 лет назад

Can we get the names of those objecting to historic forest restoration? We need to take a closer look at what they've been doing and how they got their credentials.

@mrmjeber 5 лет назад

If we restored the chestnut to Eastern US I really do think we could help (even if a little bit) fight climate change's severity - our ecosystem for this region has been crippled for 100 years in a pseudo-zombie state and that loss surely has contributed to the loss of biodiversity and tree cover allowing other encroaching changes made elsewhere more damaging.

@adriand6883 4 года назад

Yes, for sure. 🤔 Good thought👍🏻😊

@jillianromick 5 лет назад

Hearing about this fungus reminds me of the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle invasion that happened when I was in college (2004-2009). The insect naturally moved from tree to tree on its own but the invasion was hurried and spread by transporting firewood long distances from affected areas to non-affected areas. I haven't heard anything about it in years so I think it was contained and/or otherwise dealt with, but it was in the news in my region for quite a while. Great presentation, Olivia! I like your style!

@beth8775 5 лет назад

The problem isn't gone, but it has been slowed by prohibiting long distance firewood transport. Indiana's state parks have signs about it. You have to buy your firewood on site.

@shanestanton5481 7 месяцев назад

Here in Appalachia, the Ash is gone.

@karensmith5580 5 лет назад

And then there's the American elm. Bring back the golden arches of autumn!

@strictlyeducationalmagick 5 лет назад

I have one in the yard. The blight kills limbs but never the whole tree. Seedlings come up easy from the nuts but not yard friendly because they look and feel like stepping on a sea urchin.

@zakiducky 5 лет назад

A century-old ecological system is a blip of a blip on the geologic timescale. Bring back the (gmo) chestnut!

@adriand6883 4 года назад

Yes, thank you! 👍🏻😃

@JDSleeper 5 лет назад

So, they're worried about disrupting a century-old ecosystem? Losing those chestnuts in the first place was disruptive in itself. The forest will adapt once again.

@alilabeebalkoka 5 лет назад

Well considering that the Chestnut trees are natives. The environmental impact should not be noticeable anyways

@RangerRuby 5 лет назад

Although it can be a little disrupting to bring the trees back, the good that will come will be definitely worth it.

@philosopherperv 5 лет назад

@@RangerRuby This is a genuine question, but what is the good? Assuming that the risk of introducing these species into the wild is small, what benefit are we creating by taking that risk?

@philosopherperv 5 лет назад

I'm legitimately confused. Why are we forcing the ecosystem to adapt? I really hope it isn't just nostalgia for chestnut trees. That doesn't seem like a very good reason to take, even a small risk, of upsetting an ecosystem. Perhaps I am just missing something though. Please let me know.

@RangerRuby 5 лет назад

@@philosopherperv The ecosystem has been messed up and you have t chose whether the new adaptation or the original is better for it.

@davidbuschhorn6539 5 лет назад

Back in the 1970s and 80s, my friend lived in a house that still had an original chestnut on the property. They dropped tennis ball sized green balls that were covered in hard, toothpick-like spikes. Not at all like a horse chestnut. Bare feet were *_not_* an option around that tree. :(

@thechessfish 5 лет назад

I did my capstone project in undergrad working with the Army Corps of Engineers analyzing the soil in a plot where these trees were being replanted! Cool to see a scishow episode on it! (Not the GMO ones, the cross bred ones)

@JamesBiggar 5 лет назад

Can grow and eat GMO crops, continually pump pollution into the atmosphere, totally reshape the landscape for development, but we have to stop and think about those gmo trees. Gotta watch the trees!

@TheRealMirCat 5 лет назад

Government agencies have to block things, ban things, and change regulations to justify their existence.

@undr_guv_surv 5 лет назад

Gmo isn't inherently good or bad

@TGears314 5 лет назад

James Biggar the first gmos were made by the early natives like Aztecs and Incas. They’re called corn and watermelon.

@maxblanchard5258 5 лет назад

Yet importing foreign organisms isn't illegal

@zorkmid1083 5 лет назад

@@TheRealMirCat Yeah, because businesses and people are so cognizant of long-term environmental effects. Not.

@accelerator1666 5 лет назад

They better bring back those natural wonders!

@LucidFL 5 лет назад

But it is no longer natural if it is genetically modified

@safir2241 5 лет назад

Big Daddy Why?

@accelerator1666 5 лет назад

@@LucidFL by that logic your not natural, nor is any of the food in your fridge.

@LucidFL 5 лет назад

@@accelerator1666 Is that logic wrong?

@accelerator1666 5 лет назад

@@LucidFL so what was the point in what you said?

@RCSVirginia 4 года назад

As others have noted here, the advantage of this use of genetic modification is that other than the implantation of a specific fungus-resistant gene from wheat, these trees are purely American Chestnut and are not a hybrid derived from crosses with other varieties of non-native chestnuts. They are the trees that evolved in North America for millennia, and they only have one slight genetic alteration. It, also, should not be forgotten that part of our biological knowledge now is the awareness that genes have shifted around from species to species by bacteria and viruses throughout the evolution of life on Earth. As these trees have passed every test so far in terms of bring viable and not harming the environment, a good next step would be to plant a small forest of them in order to study them in an actual, natural environment. After all, should it be decided that they do not present the benefit to North America's ecology that it appears that they will, they can always be cut down.

@hurch1915 8 месяцев назад

And here we are 4 years later, and they're still not approved.

@rydaddy2867 5 лет назад

I'm doing my part; out of a nursery in FL they cross-breed a cold-tolerant variety from American and Chinese chestnuts they called Dunstan Chestnut. I've planted 16 of them on my family farm in southern Wisconsin. A few were lost to the bitter cold last winter (-60F/-51C for a few days), but most of them look pretty good, couple even got a few chestnuts on them this year!

@swapertxking 5 лет назад

sam'o'nella put it best on how much fuel that much tree loss was.

@calsta619 5 лет назад

Which Ep?

@isnanesavant 5 лет назад

ten times the hiroshima bomb, in energy, gone

@swapertxking 5 лет назад

@@calsta619 plant diseases, and to reply to wonderful, it wasn't just 10 times... it was 10,000 times.

@parker4544 5 лет назад

was looking for this

@jesseruderman5121 5 лет назад

The episode is "Plant Diseases": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LFvaD2d8Vd4.html

@aldotorres1983 5 лет назад

"I'm bringing chestnuts back." (Yeah!) "You Asian fungi don't know how to act." (Yeah!)

@Naiadryade 5 лет назад

I think it's special, nuts we used to crack. (Yeah!) So scientists the DNA will hack. (Yeah!)

@jackhughman2714 3 года назад

I recently spotted a massive chestnut tree out on Vinalhaven, a village/fishing island 15 miles off of Rockland, ME. Epic and beautiful tree for sure.

@AverytheCubanAmerican 5 лет назад

The Lorax would love to work with those scientists

@AmeshaSpentaArmaiti 5 лет назад

Can one speak for trees that have died out? This will haunt me for days.

@spindash64 5 лет назад

Prometheus Is Cold Yes, yes you can

@jerungbiru55 5 лет назад

Diseases: Let it die, let it die Let it shrivel up and- COME ON. WHO'S WITH ME.

@sebastianelytron8450 5 лет назад

"Wheat rust" sounds like one of those high fiber cereal abominations🤢

@massimookissed1023 5 лет назад

It's like they hire food scientists to get that crap to taste like recycled shredded cardboard. "Now with extra staples for iron!"

@markchip1 5 лет назад

"In God, Wheat Rust!".

@karphin1 5 лет назад

It is actually a fungal infection, which looks like runs on the wheat, hence the name.

@Doom2pro 5 лет назад

Or a trendy new band name.

@pat999x 5 лет назад

This is what genetic modification is good for. I hope that they get approval

@PaulaJBean 5 лет назад

There's not real money behind it, so I doubt it.

@GilgameshEthics 5 лет назад

@katiekane5247 5 лет назад

@@GilgameshEthics we should stick with appreciation of natuve plants & quit shipping problems all over the world *native*

@michaelblacketter6337 5 лет назад

@@GilgameshEthics I understand what you mean by unintended consequences, but many ecological disasters are accidents. Insects and other organisms can hitch rides to new continents without us meddling in nature. For example zebra mussels and ship ballast. We've gained a lot of knowledge in the past few centuries and have a very good understanding of ecology and ecosystems. Humans are natural and you can't separate us from ecosystems, so why do you think doing nothing is a better option?

@evanhenderson1760 5 лет назад

GilgameshEthics also gmo plants have no advantages other than maybe a resistance to insects or a disease but most gmo plants would suffer, what do you think is more likely to not get eaten, a juicy gmo selectively bred corn stalk, or their preexisting scrawny cousin

@Otokichi786 5 лет назад

That story/poem that begins: "Under the spreading Chestnut tree the village smithy stands..." It's been one of those works that sparks the question: "What kind of tree is/was that?" Out here, rapid Ohia death, spread by an aggressive fungus, is about to remove a similar cultural touchstone. Oh well, at least I know what Ohia looks/looked like.

@liquidateddamages6220 5 лет назад

Just last month I was lucky to see for myself a fully grown American Chestnut tree! It was a surreal experience.

@AverytheCubanAmerican 5 лет назад

Wow my state NY was home to these trees, awesome. *Let It Grow intensifies*

@PaulEffinger 5 лет назад

I was just thinking that.

@Dell-ol6hb 5 лет назад

Avery The Cuban-American yeah I wish they were still here

@shadowlynx1958 5 лет назад

"Help it grow, Crysta..." (points if anyone remembers what movie that line is from)

@JustinY. 5 лет назад

"Whatever happened to the American Chestnut tree?" "Gone. Reduced to atoms."

@Master_Therion 5 лет назад

Oh, snap!

@ThatOneguy-br3uf 5 лет назад

Worst comment ever

@ikichullo 3 года назад

not funny chinese communist

@shadowlynx1958 5 лет назад

And in other news: There is both a preventative and a curative treatment for emerald ash borer! Hooray for science!

@maxblanchard5258 5 лет назад

My grandfather always taught me about the Native American chestnut trees

@TacetCat 5 лет назад

This subject hurts my heart, but I'm glad more people are getting the word out, so to speak. I live in the southern Appalachians. I remember my grandma telling stories about the chestnuts. How their blooms would turn the mountains white. How she would harvest the nuts from the tree behind her house every year. I hope the restoration efforts succeed, so that in the future, whether my future or another's, these trees won't be just stories.

@shanek6582 5 лет назад

Wish they’d find a fix for the hemlock trees around here in the smoky mountains, they’re all dying off from some invasive wooly something.

@jpe1 5 лет назад

Shane K that’s the wooly adelig, a bug from Asia. Killed my eastern hemlocks. Last year my ash trees died from emerald ash borers, and now spotted lantern flies are everywhere in my area, killing lots of trees, especially trees of heaven. It would be nice to see chestnuts come back so there are at least some tall trees standing to make forests.

@spindash64 5 лет назад

John Early Here in Minnesota, we have to take measures to deal with Emerald Ash Borers. These things are just everywhere these days, aren’t they?

@stephenpowstinger733 5 лет назад

I was just in NC , and looking at some dying hemlocks. 😕

@amberhawksong 5 лет назад

@@stephenpowstinger733 I see them a lot in MA ;_;

@adriand6883 4 года назад

Yes. It would be a pity if we lost them. There are some impressive ones near where I live.

@ursaltydog 5 лет назад

The last chestnut I'd ever seen as a child was removed by a construction company wanting to flatten the land for real estate.

@firethylacine1976 5 лет назад

That's disheartening. At least you got to see one

@ursaltydog 5 лет назад

@@firethylacine1976 Yep.. I barely remember it though.. but it's sickening to see the field without any trees at all.. just monculture grass..

@Beryllahawk 5 лет назад

I fail to see how adding diversity to the eco system can harm it, at least in THIS case, since it's returning a native plant to the ecosystem that it belongs in... And I fail to see how the forests would have trouble adapting (re-adapting) to the presence of chestnuts. We're talking decades before we see major impact, true, but we'd see signs of trouble long before the first decade, would we not? Frankly I despise the term GMO these days because of all the hate surrounding it. Every time someone whines to me about GMO anything I get quite tetchy and remind them that MOST of the animals we've domesticated, and ALL of the plants/crops, are nearly unrecognizable from their ancient forms because of exactly the thing they're whining about. Selective breeding is genetic modification, just slower than current techniques. And most of the crops that have been altered have been changed to improve things for us humans - a fact that gets left behind in the general fear mongering. It's the sort of ignorance that infuriates me daily.

@SeaFireK 5 лет назад

Not to mention how we lost a banana species to fungi... and the remaining bananas might become extinct as well for the same reason

@briansegers674 5 лет назад

The American Chestnut tree was mane food supply for the massive population of squirrels that even Louis and Clark documented as so numerous it caused them to postpone passage up the Ohio River while a mass of squirrels made it's crossing. Now that's a story SciShow should tell!!

@robertrosenthal7264 5 лет назад

You meant "main". The word "mane" is what a lion has.

@sixionzear6329 4 года назад

One of my professors actually grows American Chestnuts and it’s honestly amazing. He takes good care of his trees.

@DoingHawaii 5 лет назад

Sound like the Chestnut suffered from a similar fungus that is killing all our Ohia Trees.

@michaelblacketter6337 5 лет назад

Do you mean ash trees? There's an insect called the emerald ash borer that has killed 98-99% of ash trees in affected areas.

@DoingHawaii 5 лет назад

@@michaelblacketter6337 No, I was comparing the chestnut discussed in the video to the Ohia tree in Hawaii.

@Glencycle 5 лет назад

Doing Hawaii - maybe it’s because guava has over taken so the Ohia isn’t able to take root first in the lava fields. Likely guava has a different symbiotic mycelium than the Ohia.

@DoingHawaii 5 лет назад

@@Glencycle No, it is a fungus. It is being referred to as ROD (Rapid Ohia Death). It gets into the nutrient channels of the tree and blocks the transport of nutrients. So everything above the blockage dies.

@michaelblacketter6337 5 лет назад

@@DoingHawaii My bad, I'm not familiar with that, and guessed you meant Ohio

@ryanhatesgirls 5 лет назад

Trees are for the bees. Who needs em!

@coffeewind4409 5 лет назад

the bees

@jeremyowen1 5 лет назад

Botany is fascinating as heck.

@reidr7288 5 лет назад

Omg I have been waiting for the Chestnut tree video for years

@Krebzonide 5 лет назад

They should just sell the trees seeds online for people to plant in their private forests.

@nicholaslewis8594 5 лет назад

Still the red tape for eating them and “releasing” them into the wild.

@CynicalScientist261 5 лет назад

cheeseman they’ll just end up planting them in the wild if it comes to it. The government don’t care enough to check what trees are growing. They are too inept

@TGears314 5 лет назад

Thomas Gannon not true at all. The forest services are pretty awesome

@CynicalScientist261 5 лет назад

Tucker Garcia they are good enough to know if a sapling has a certain gene over the next sappling?

@adriand6883 4 года назад

Lol 😂 Unfortunately they'd probably get the whole operation shut down if they got caught.

@Tara-sf7uu 5 лет назад

Im glad to see a plant based science video...more plz!

@adriand6883 4 года назад

Yes! I love botany and want to eventually work in the plant sciences.

@doylethelovely2555 2 года назад

A professor at my university is working on the restoration project and it’s really cool.

@coffeewind4409 5 лет назад

Do you ever realize you weren't paying attention for half the video so you have to watch it again..

@danielkinton7193 5 лет назад

too much lol

@MissJudyJetson 5 лет назад

Its because her voice has no excitement in it. Shes boring not the topic.

@adriand6883 4 года назад

Almost every time I watch a video, lol 🙃

@ArmchairDeity 5 лет назад

Awesome Princess Bride reference! ❤️

@C.L.Hinton 5 лет назад

Jared Rypka-Hauer Except that it was Westley as himself who was "mostly dead all day" rather than his Dread Pirate Roberts persona. That really is a wonderful movie. It has everything!

@treck87 5 лет назад

"you probably envisioned something like the Giant Sequoias" ..... no..no I did not envision a 100 foot tree equalling a 250 ft. tall monster tree. Not even a little bit. Cedar trees, Fir trees and Cottonwoods all get much taller than 100 ft. with very large trunks and I'd still never compare them with the behemoth Sequoias species.

@Master_Therion 5 лет назад

Back in high school, my friends and I joined the chess club. We were a bunch of chess nuts.

@desp8161 5 лет назад

I put my testicles in a box. They're called chestnuts.

@dancurtis611 8 месяцев назад

I remember when downtown Durham, NH was shaded by a vast cathedral of elms, now all gone. If you never saw it, you couldn't understand just how spectacular it was. I will likely not live to see it, but I hope the chestnuts and elms come back.

@AndImAllOutofBubblegum 5 лет назад

lol "Like the dread pirate Roberts". You're the best.

@rdormer 5 лет назад

Idiots: Hey, Chinese Chestnut trees are so pretty. For some stupid unfathomable reason, lets go ahead and import this alien species even though there's a native species that's perfectly fine. Scientists: You just introduced a plague into the ecosystem. All of the native Chestnuts will die, and the species will become extinct. Idiots: Whoopsies LOL Scientists: We can save them by introducing a GMO version with just one single gene added. Idiots: WHAT HOW DARE YOU YOU BETTER TEST THAT TO MAKE SURE IT'S SAFE DON'T YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT CAN BE?!?!?!?!

@johnshilling2221 5 лет назад

I grew up in the 60s in lower Michigan. Everywhere in the rural areas in almost any direction you chose to look, incredibly tall, dead American elm trees, most always without any bark, towered above the remaining forests. I have never seen a living, healthy American Elm. This video gives me hope, but I probably won't live to see the return of some of the greatest trees of the Americas.

@wjcolby 9 месяцев назад

Around 1970 all the trees on my street in Buffalo NY was marked and cut down .They were all chestnuts. We used to play with the millions of chestnuts every year when I was a little kid.

@jackthmp 5 лет назад

Think of the tree forts all of those kids never had 😭

@poeticsilence047 5 лет назад

Not sure about everyone else that thumbnail of the tree looks like a giant star.

@PaulPaulPaulson 5 лет назад

Or a meeple

@Sam89365 4 года назад

Disrupting is what happened when we introduced the disease. Planting these trees will be like two old friends reuniting after years of separation; the forest will happily welcome the chestnut back in.

@ericdebord 5 лет назад

Miracle Max quote from the princess bride. Very good

@bobbyharper8710 5 лет назад

The same blight also took out the Allegheny Chinquapin which is a smaller version of chestnuts but resistant trees have been produced.

@JohnBender1313 5 лет назад

It is really sad. I have seen one of the few left. Really beautiful trees. A forest of them would be amazing.

@buckmoody5939 5 месяцев назад

When I was young my grandfather would show me pictures of actual cabins made from the trunks of the American Chestnut trees in the Appalachian mnts and some trees as old as 8 or 9 hundred years old and the medicines and rot resistance of the trees was amazing

@dantebond8124 5 лет назад

"Why can't we be friends?" Because that's not how humanity works.

@LPanne_Stitches 5 лет назад

I got to meet one of the scientists that is working on this project during a seminar about how to present your research to the general population. One of the funniest things she had to add was that the transgene from wheat was not glutten. lol

@PaulaJBean 5 лет назад

There *must* be a connection to global warming and climate change, otherwise your science won't get any funding nowadays.

@CorwynGC 5 лет назад

Sure, Round-up Ready Corn gets a green light though...

@PaulaJBean 5 лет назад

That's because there's money in it. Money = lobby.

@symoneontheinternet 5 лет назад

Let the east coast/west coast tree battle begin 😤🌳

@JIMPONYD 5 лет назад

Wonderful video, and even better the reference to the Princess Bride. “Mostly dead”

@missourimongoose7643 2 года назад

I had a chance to trim an American Chestnut that was planted by the homeowners granddad outside STL and it was awesome, anyone who says they shouldn't bring it back is dumb and it's a shame the ash trees are next

@singinginthedark2786 5 лет назад

I unfortunately have a huge chestnut tree in by backyard here in central Alabama, I had no idea it was rare, but omg it is a foot killer, cant go barefoot in my yard thanks to that rare tree

@craigcorson3036 5 лет назад

I would really like to see the American Elm make a comeback. The streets of the city I grew up in were once lined with them. and then when Dutch elm disease struck, they were all gone within about a decade. It was a very sad thing to have to watch. Such majestic trees.

@Mekratrig 2 года назад

Nice to see Olivia again.

@a-goblin 5 лет назад

we have a stump in the back yard that's MASSIVE and my parents thought it was some kind of giant oak, but considering we're in the green area of the map & that it's like an 8-10ft wide stump, i now wonder if it's of one of those chestnut trees. if it is, that's pretty amazing.

@brianbrewster6532 5 лет назад

Finally, someone shined a spotlight on the plight of the chestnut tree. About a decade ago, I had the privilege of refurbishing an historic home that was furnished with copious chestnut trim and had doors made of this gorgeous hardwood. I could not believe that this wood - very similar in grain to walnuts, only a blonde version of such - went extinct! I had no idea how large these trees grew in size. No wonder lumber companies were so eager to chop these these trees down. I feel, after all this exhaustive work to restore this species, they deserve a chance to be regrown in the U.S. Perhaps our governement can issue permits to concerned citizens to 1 - purchase these seedlings for $1000 a piece, 2 - the new owners must fill out annual reports stating how well these are growing and impacting wildlife around them, and c - take these funds and reinvest in more GMO-modified chestnut strains to perpertuate this vast regrowth process nationwide.

@whathappened2230 5 лет назад

RELEASE THE TREE!

@bonnierussell7824 5 лет назад

I hope the hippies won't stop them from doing this just because a lot of people have an irrational fear of genetic engineering.

@Abdega 5 лет назад

If this works, I bet banana growers will start knocking on those scientists’ doors asking for help

@handley2645mh 5 лет назад

I don't remember the chestnut tree die off but I do remember the elm tree die off. It was so sad to see street after street in our community lose their majestic trees that provided such beauty, shade, and bird and squirrel homes. The streets seem empty and bare afterward even though many replanted with maples and oak trees, it just wasn't the same.

@achi-leanathlos8376 5 лет назад

Finally a subject NOT suggested by patreons!!

@sarahpride5556 5 лет назад

The American Chestnut was the major food source of the First Nations people, and wildlife. The Chestnut’s demise devastated Ecosystems in so many ways. My cousin was a Tennessee Parks Superintendent decades ago, and he told me that there was a secret remnant population of American Chestnut trees. And that scientists were trying to propagate a disease resistant strain, to bring them back...Glory !

@gingercox6468 5 лет назад

I have a beech tree. It must be 300 years old the trunk is massive. It has a root that's formed a bowl. And there is water that runs down a crack in the bark and keeps water in that root bowl. Weird.

@johnhaines9893 5 лет назад

There is an exhibit about the American chestnut on The blue ridge parkway west of Asheville North Carolina at the visitor center. There are a few trees left in the area.

@LeviathanStormPrince 5 лет назад

Actually, this could be super useful for developing HLB-resistant citrus, because citrus in the US is going extinct fast.

@Sassifrass7 5 лет назад

I'd be so thrilled to see them come back. And hopefully the Elm too,....that was always one of my favorite trees. I'm old, so I grew up with them.

@losaikosavetheearth4215 5 лет назад

We had a Chestnut Tree in MD when I grew up. The blight killed off almost all the Chestnut trees. This one wa@ beautiful and I hope it still survives. A beautifull tree, tasty nuts, and gorgous wood. I don't think the wood should be harvested though. I'll help plant these for free. I have time and would love to see these trees everywhere.

@losaikosavetheearth4215 5 лет назад

@christopher snedeker I moved to Colorado 40 years ago. Chestnut trees need humidity. If I thought I could grow one here I'd try. Thanks though. I have hopes to hear of an East coast come back.

@KriegsMeister27 5 лет назад

Those trees were also some of the first "cash crops" of the america's as they were well suited for the old shipbuilding industry, especially as the Mast for very large sailing ships of the time

@zacharythebeau163 5 лет назад

They grow wild here they haven't gotten big yet but they grow well here.

@FowlesIverson 5 лет назад

Man... I love this show... I look like a hoss when I spout off all the knowledge I learn here to my friends.. it's my secret weapon.

@CynicalScientist261 5 лет назад

I’m a botanist studying in the UK and the fear and stigma around GMO’s really pisses me off. People that know nothing about genetics have such strong opinions on them without knowing the first thing.

@HerrMisterTheo 5 лет назад

I know. Even with a rudimentary understanding of genetics and a little bit of common sense you should be able to figure out that genetic engineering isn't inherently bad. It baffles me that people don't even question the fact that we grow crops from all over the world here. They're also not afraid of eating new fruits and vegetables that have potentially dozens or maybe even HUNDREDS of proteins they have never eaten before. But when one or two proteins are specifically selected by humans (and if course tested to assure they are safe for consumption), suddenly they are worried about possible side effects. Having avocado sandwiches year round isn't natural either, Karen. In fact if you're not from Mexico having avocado at all isn't natural. How come you're fine with, Karen?

@CynicalScientist261 5 лет назад

HerrMisterTheo yeah screw Karen.

@quixotic4233 4 года назад

Wasn't the loss of the American Chestnut devastating to wildlife? It's an important source of winter protein for foraging animals. I say bring it back.

@deep_fried_analysis 5 лет назад

Watching SciShow for all these years made me learn the Imperial system. Still have not gotten used to them saying "meter" x)

@claremchugh5005 5 лет назад

The trim in my home is American Chestnut . It’s absolutely beautiful .

@eppikufeiru 5 лет назад

This was a really good video. You guys should do one on the Ash Tree blight & the invasive Ash Borers that’ve been affecting the East Coast for the last decade.

@JayAlastor 5 лет назад

there are a few sections of Chestnut trees that are growing perfectly fine near EastTN, North C. and Virginia. (not getting specific cause i dont like people messing with life) but the trees are only 1 to 3 meters wide. most or less then that (but none have died off in a long time)

@shadow81818 5 лет назад

Loved the Princess Bride reference, guys

@ThisOldSkater 5 лет назад

0:33 YAY! Not our fault for once! 0:36 oh, of course it was our fault...

@christelheadington1136 5 лет назад

A Chinese conspiracy.

@davidescarraga8962 5 лет назад

I love her voice so much!

@xarris37 5 лет назад

I'd heard about the chestnut blight before but I had no idea they used to be such big trees. I'd love to see them come back even if they have to keep it out of the wild

@metricstormtrooper 5 лет назад

Its a nice tree but its tiny compared to our Victorian mountain Ash/Tasmanian Oak (same species different name on our island)

@OttawaOldFart 5 лет назад

We have one stand of trees left fr4om pre-colonial days not far from where I live and they are big trees.

@jakedowney270 5 лет назад

The town I live in was known for (and subsequently named after) its large population of Elm trees. However, Elm disease feared its ugly head and now the entire population is pretty much wiped out. The idea that there may be a way to bring back what is essentially the namesake of our town is amazing, although obviously as pointed out in the video there must be precautions.

@Mare_Man 5 лет назад

It wouldn't be the first time GMOs have been used to save plants, and hopefully it won't be the last!

@TheWraithkrown 5 лет назад

I think it is great that scientists figured out how to make this species "better". It is good practice for doing more useful things with genetics. Humanity does not have a monopoly on extinction. Life has been evolving and going extinct for far longer than humans have been here. I think that unless there is ongoing ecological harm, for example the lack of wolves in the yellowstone area causing deer populations to be unsustainable, we should not be reintroducing extinct or critically endangered species to the environment. Too many times we overcorrect a problem and spend decades trying to get it right.