Chinkapin

Native mast producer for wildlife, tough as nails on dry slopes, and the closest living relative to the lost American chestnut.

Chinkapin is the compact native relative of the American chestnut, and it survived the blight that destroyed the chestnut because it largely grows as a thicket-forming shrub rather than a large tree. The nuts it produces are smaller than chestnuts but just as sweet, and wildlife take them with the same enthusiasm: deer, turkey, squirrels, and blue jays all compete for the September and October crop. In June, the cream-white catkins are showy and fragrant in a musky, distinctive way, covering the plant before the nuts begin to form. The foliage is bold and chestnut-like: toothed, oblong, with a fuzzy underside. It spreads by root suckers to form naturalistic colonies on dry banks, open woods, and woodland edges. This is a plant for the naturalized landscape where wildlife value is the priority.