Chestnut Trees

On our ride around CastelGondolfo we got to see many different types of trees. One tree that Dr. Leo pointed out for us was the chestnut tree. While having a discussion about them we learned about a disease going around killing chestnut trees, which I also found out that it was the same disease that killed the chestnut trees in America. After looking it up I found the name of this disease to be chestnut blight. They get this disease by a fungus called Cryphonectria parasitica. It would attack through open cuts on the tree and is spread through the air. This disease was first seen in Italy back in 1938 but because of the resistance the Italian trees have to the disease it didn’t cause near the amount of destruction it had in America. I was glad to get to see these beautiful trees here since they are so much rarer in the states and will never forget their size and the cool nut they produce. Hopefully, they will be able to cross breed the American chestnut with another one so we can have these trees back in the states one day.  

-Colton Bausch