Morey St. Denis
12-16-2012, 5:21 PM
Been scouting the area of central New Jersey for fallen trees from recent storm Sandy for potential windfall lumber and turning material sources.
Ever come across a large, mature (diameter of the bole is 2 feet) tree with leaves virtually identical to American Chestnut, yet the profusely attached seed pods appear rather as shriveled pea pods? Specifically, more in a gardening vernacular, I would say light brown dried, thin, Snow Pea pods. Size of those multple pods is up to 2" in length. There are three individual compact, (smaller than a lentil) very hard, brown seeds linearly arranged within each pod.
Oddly enough, in my own search for leaf examples that might initially be mistaken for American Chestnut, I have come across a matching artistic image mis-identified as Horse Chestnut. We all known that Horse Chestnut has palmately compound leaves, not singular alternately opposed leaves. I suspect the tree, of which there are two fully uprooted windfallen examples, may be an imported species. They are located on municipal complex grounds with many other varied examples of imported "exotics" along with native and japanese maples, oaks, black cherry, black walnut, yellow poplar, hemlock, japanese cedar and horse chestnut. The leaves and seed pods appearing lower left in the image below look to be a fair illustration of the tree type in question.
Ever come across a large, mature (diameter of the bole is 2 feet) tree with leaves virtually identical to American Chestnut, yet the profusely attached seed pods appear rather as shriveled pea pods? Specifically, more in a gardening vernacular, I would say light brown dried, thin, Snow Pea pods. Size of those multple pods is up to 2" in length. There are three individual compact, (smaller than a lentil) very hard, brown seeds linearly arranged within each pod.
Oddly enough, in my own search for leaf examples that might initially be mistaken for American Chestnut, I have come across a matching artistic image mis-identified as Horse Chestnut. We all known that Horse Chestnut has palmately compound leaves, not singular alternately opposed leaves. I suspect the tree, of which there are two fully uprooted windfallen examples, may be an imported species. They are located on municipal complex grounds with many other varied examples of imported "exotics" along with native and japanese maples, oaks, black cherry, black walnut, yellow poplar, hemlock, japanese cedar and horse chestnut. The leaves and seed pods appearing lower left in the image below look to be a fair illustration of the tree type in question.