Hardwood Floors December 2019/January 2020

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SUSTAINABILITY: Chestnut is not listed in the CITES appendices or on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red List of threatened species. INTERESTING NOTES: Chestnut is widely cultivated today for its edible seeds. Chestnut seeds have been cultivated for more than 4,000 years. The United States produces only one percent of the planet’s chestnut production. To the early Christians, chestnuts symbolized chastity. Chestnuts are the only nuts that contain vitamin C. The Christmas song, “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” was written in 1945 by Mel Tormé, then later sung by Nat King Cole in 1946. The chestnut tree of One Hundred Horses grows on Mount Etna in Sicily, and is the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world. It is between 2,000 and 4,000 years old and 190 feet in circumference.

SOURCES: The Wood Database; Copyright © 2008-2016, Eric Meier |

Wood Handbook (Wood as an Engineering Material), USDA Forest Products Laboratory