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Chinquapin Chestnut as a Productive Food Crop

A collaborative long-term project to identify and/or breed cultivars of chinquapin chestnut (Castanea pumila), or chinquapin chestnut crosses with other chestnut species, suited for food production.
Description

Chinquapin chestnuts (Castanea pumila) were once a treasured food crop in the Eastern part of the United States (roughly from Florida to Pennsylvania, west to Texas). It was generally only available in local markets, and was typically foraged from the wild in places where it grew abundantly. Native Americans ate chinquapins raw, dried them for long-term storage, boiled them and mashed them. 

From Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste: "On November 26, 1898, the Trenton Evening Times wrote an article about the stir a rare appearance of chinquapins in a northern market occasioned. The seller observed, 'They are more delicate than the chestnut and of rare flavor, but too small for the candy and cake maker to bother with or to be used for the table. They are nice to nibble at in between times... The best of them are exceptionally sweet, tender and well-flavored... The chinquapin doesn’t need cooking like the chestnut to reduce it to toothsomeness.'

But the chinquapin fell into relative obscurity following the devastating fungal plight that nearly sent the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) to extinction, and the increased availability of imported chestnuts from Europe, Japan, Korea, and China. Yet the chinquapin is much less impacted by the chestnut blight -- it does prevent the tree from reaching heights it previously reached, but it does not prevent the plant from producing copious amounts of nuts under the proper growing conditions. While the fungus does kill the tallest limbs/trunks of chinquapin plants by the time they reach 30 feet in heigh (they once grew to over 60 feet), the roots are apparently undamaged and continue to send up new branches.

Beyond the impact of the blight, a few traits have conspired to keep chinquapin chestnuts from being improved as crop plants: 1) the relatively small size of the seeds, 2) the propensity of seeds to germinate in the Fall, sometimes before they even fall from the plant, 3) the uneven ripening of seeds, 4) the deep love of squirrels for chinquapins, and 5) the challenges of processing large amounts of chinquapin seeds. We believe these obstacles are not insurmountable -- and this project will attempt over many years to develop chinquapin chestnut plants with larger seeds that ripen uniformly. Reducing Fall germination may also be possible (though sprouted nuts and grains have found a significant market in recent years), and finding ways to process seeds and protect them from pests must be possible.

This project seeks volunteers both for growing trees over many years and for collecting seeds and/or cuttings from wild or cultivated trees. Both subspecies of chinquapin (Allegheny and Ozark) are being studied/utilized in this project.

Researcher background
Nate Kleinman is one of the co-founders of the Experimental Farm Network. He is an activist, organizer, plant breeder, and farmer, based in Elmer, New Jersey. His background as an organizer includes work with Occupy Sandy, Service Employees International Union, the Sudan Freedom Walk Campaign, and various political campaigns. He serves or has served on the board of the Jewish Social Policy Action Network, the Project for Nuclear Awareness, the Cumberland County (NJ) Long Term Recovery Group, GMO Free Pennsylvania, and the Roughwood Seed Collection.

As a farmer and plant breeder, Nate is primarily interested in utilizing agriculture as a tool in the fight against climate change -- while at the same time working to preserve crop biodiversity, restore ecosystems and wildlife populations, and further the cause of social and economic justice for farmworkers and all people. He speaks on food justice, agroecology, participatory plant breeding, climate change, and other issues at conferences and events around the United States.

Nate's favorite food plants include mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum), maypops (Passiflora incarnata), chinquapin chestnuts (Castanea pumila), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), 'Nanticoke' squash (Cucurbita maxima 'Nanticoke'), 'Sehsapsing' corn (Zea mays subsp. mays'Sehsapsing'), 'Tracy' rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum), red & white currants (Ribes spicatum), cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), seakale (Crambe maritima), garlic (Allium sativum), and sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas).
Are you seeking volunteer growers or other types of volunteers?
Yes, seeking volunteer growers
How many volunteers do you need?
50
What will you ask volunteers to do?
Volunteers will be asked either to grow trees or collect germplasm (seeds and/or cuttings). Volunteer growers must be secure in their land tenure for the foreseeable future (at least 5 years). Some may be asked to grow plants from seed, or be provided with living plants. Experienced volunteers with access to chestnut trees may be asked to graft scionwood of chinquapins onto their trees. Volunteers will be expected to harvest and weigh 100 seeds, once trees become productive enough, on an annual basis, and to keep seeds from each tree labeled separate. Seeds must be sent back to researcher when possible (though eventually growers should be able to keep plenty for personal use).
Other requirements of volunteers?
Must live in regions where chinquapin chestnuts will survive (Florida to at least Massachusetts, possibly Maine, west to Texas and Minnesota, and likely the Pacific Northwest). Volunteers will also be asked to survey their surrounding area as much as possible to determine if any other chestnut trees (of any species) are present, as chestnuts are prone to crossing between species.
Is this a multi-year project?
Yes
Can volunteers expect to be able to keep some germplasm (seeds, bulbs, cuttings, spores, etc) at the close of the project?
Yes, of course
Anything else?
If you know a location where chinquapin chestnuts grow, but are not willing to participate actively in this project, please do get in touch with the researcher (nathankleinman@gmail.com) to provide this information. Thank you.
Researcher Location

08318
United States

Project Updates

Dwarf Chinquapin


project update by
ferraria
Monday, March 21, 2022 - 06:37

There is significant disagreement on classifications for C. pumila and C. alnifolia, but they appear to be two different species. The dwarf or coastal chinquapin is MUCH smaller and perhaps more useful. If youare in Florida or the Georgia coastal area, I would live seeds to cross with dwarf Chinese chestnut cultivars and other dwarf trees. This is the only commercial source I've found, but he's out of stock and won't ship to my state: https://www.tytyga.com/Georgiana-Chinquapin-Dwarf-p/zos-nutchi-georgian…