The word castanea is the classical Greek and Latin name of chestnut. North American chestnut trees were virtually wiped out by the fungus Endothia parasitica . The different species of chestnut hybridize with each other.
All species look alike microscopically.
American chestnut's preblight range extended from Maine west to Michigan and south to Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. The major stands were in southern New England and the Appalachian Mountains. The finest timber came from the Appalachians. Its ability to sprout from the cut or dead stump has kept this species in existence, temporarily, although the blight eventually kills the sprouts. The narrow sapwood of chestnut is near white, while the heartwood is grayish brown to brown and darkens with age.