Saga of the American Chestnut

Chestnuts roasting in an ideological fire! Colleen shares the history of Castanea dentata, a once ubiquitous, now virtually extinct species that has become an unlikely sticking point in the controversy over genetically modified organisms.

But first, we talk about late season burnout, and COLLEEN’S FORTHCOMING BOOK! (Stay tuned for news about book release!)

PS. Leah will be presenting a free lecture to the Native Plant Society of Williamson County, “Landscaping with Native Plants: Ten Design Principles for Home Gardeners” on June 10 at 7pm, via Zoom. Sign up and learn more here.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Akiva Silver; The Sierra Club’s paper on Chestnuts; Truth Out’s article by Anne Petermann; The Genetic Literacy Project’s podcast on biotech and chestnuts; SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Petition for Determination of Nonregulated Status for Blight-Tolerant Darling 58 American Chestnut; and the American Chestnut Foundation.