The
Amherst tree, in Amherst County, Virginia, is probably about 150 years old, and
was a large tree when chestnut blight first struck it in the 1920s.
All large,
surviving American chestnut trees are infected with hypovirulent strains of the blight fungus. In addition, some have low levels of blight
resistance. Our sister organization, the American Chestnut CooperatorsÕ
Foundation, is breeding these for blight resistance. We also work with large, surviving American chestnut trees in Meadowview.