One of my first posts was about the Chinese Chestnut. At the time, I promised to show you an American specimen, and here it is. It’s over a year later, and I’m guessing you forgot all about it.



This tree grows without protection, but the newly planted strain is guarded by fencing, as well as horticultural artifice. Nevertheless, two of four saplings have had their tops snapped off, most likely in acts of vandalism. This tree survives, branching at the base, to make up for the missing crown. The interrupted growth pattern may lead to long term deformity, but perhaps the tree is young enough to overcome it. The others appear healthy, but it will be some time before their success is clear, just as the fate of the sprout tree is held in abeyance. It can take years for the blight to set in, but it virtually always does. Or at least that was the pattern.





So old and new trees share a moment, during which their differences are not apparent.
Memory levels the distinction between real and recalled, and Chestnut groves may yet grace the Park again.