Nature Lab

Hope for the Ozark Chinquapin

Scientists lay groundwork for conserving a blight-stricken tree species

Until the 1960s, Ozark chinquapin trees grew up to 50 feet tall. They stood alongside oaks and hickories in the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas, providing nuts to both wildlife and humans. But the blight that devastated their eastern relative, the American chestnut, eventually found its way to the Ozarks. Caused by a fungus, chestnut blight infects the tree and, over time, kills everything but the roots. 

“The pathogen can’t enter the root systems,” explains Ron Revord, Ph.D., of the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri (MU). “It causes trunk dieback, but new shoots can grow from the root collar.”

Today, most chinquapins only reach a shrubby state and are in a cycle of shoot regrowth and dieback. 

Three species of chinquapin live in the southeastern U.S. All were hit by the blight. To conserve the Ozark chinquapin, MDC and MU are partnering on a long-term project that begins with looking at the chinquapins’ genetics. 

“We weren’t sure how distinct the three chinquapins are from each other because their native ranges either overlap or butt up against each other,” says Revord.

So, in collaboration with The American Chestnut Foundation and two other universities, leaf-tissue samples were collected for a population genetics study. The results support considering the Ozark chinquapin as a distinct species. 

“And we want to conserve them because they are unique to the Ozarks,” says MDC Forest Entomologist Robbie Doerhoff.

More detailed work is now underway to determine the genetic diversity within the Ozark chinquapins sampled. Biologists will then go back and collect the best specimens to grow for conservation on an MU research farm. These trees will also be tested for tolerance to blight. 

“Resistance occurs on a spectrum,” says Doerhoff. “To produce trees that are blight tolerant and suitable for restoration, we need to have trees with varied genetics.” 

It’s going to be a long process, says Revord, but “at some point we would look to make blight-tolerant trees available for planting at conservation areas and private lands in the Ozarks.”

At a Glance

This phylogenetic tree shows how Ozark chinquapin and two other chinquapin species are related to each other and share a common ancestor with the American chestnut. All four of these American species share a distant ancestry with the Japanese and Chinese chestnut.

Partners: 

The American Chestnut Foundation, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Virginia Tech