Castanea dentata was the primary nut producer of eastern forests, dwarfing the contributions of oaks, beeches, and hickories as wildlife food sources. Squirrels, chipmunks, deer, elk, black bears, turkeys, passenger pigeons, doves, blue jays, and mice were just some of the animals that depended on copious quantities of chestnuts to make it through long winters. Equally important but more poorly documented was the role American chestnuts played in producing insects that supported huge populations of songbirds. Castanea dentata is a member of the plant family Fagaceae, which supports hundreds of
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Such a study is now impossible, not only because the chestnut is gone—along with an unknowable number of insect specialists that ate only the chestnut—but also because our forests are now so fragmented.
