Chestnut Sex

I think if you gave a kid a crayon and said, "Draw a tree," the drawing would frequently look like this giant chestnut at the Plant entrance.

Right now it is in bloom, as is its mate across the street. This time of year the air at the gate is filled with the musty smell of chestnut sex.

The white catkins of a chestnut in bloom are the reason the Cherokee referred to the mountains of North Carolina as "The White Mountains." It was once so abundant in the Carolinian forest that the blooms dominated the viewshed.

Each tree has both male and female reproductive systems, but two trees are necessary to produce fruit.

I always like walking to work through the smelly cloud of chestnut sex (not everyone does--we get complaints) because it reminds me of the ever-growing harvest that awaits us in the fall. Chestnut Carnival is one of my favorite festivals @ the Plant.

Chestnuts are a member of the beech family. Unlike pecans, hickories, and walnuts, beech trees don't "mast." That is, they don't have big years and small years. Or at least, they don't take years off. They just drop an increasing quanity each year.

When the drop begins in October, we start collecting and curing the nuts, allowing them to sweeten before being roasted, and shelled for carnival dishes, snacks and beverages.