Under The Spreading Chestnut Tree.......or Not ?
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By Ann Evans
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In literature the love affair with the chestnut tree is well established. From Longfellow’s, ‘The village Blacksmith’ (“under a spreading chestnut tree a village smithy stands…”) to the symbolism in Charlotte Bronte’s, ‘Jane Eyre (the splitting of the chestnut tree represents the breach in the relationship between Jane and Rochester) we are constantly reminded of the significance of this tree; and far back as in early Christian times the tree symbolized chastity. Anne Frank, in her diaries mentions the horse chestnut tree (Feb 23 1944) and is seen to represent her freedom.
However, today we are no longer able to take this majestic tree, aesculus hippocastanum, for granted, as it has come under threat on several fronts. Two of the most serious threats are those of the conker canker and the leaf minor moth.
The conker canker is the number one threat to the British horse chestnut because this virulent disease is deadly and as yet there is no cure. It attacks the bark of the tree which causes a black liquid to seep out and consequently starves the tree of food. Half of Britain’s horse chestnuts have conker canker and there is great concern from the government and the forestry commission over the tree‘s future; it is now on the endangered species list. One Member of Parliament has been noted as saying, ‘I don’t want a generation of children growing up without seeing a conker’ (Nov 13 2008).
Even the famous Anne Frank’s tree, standing in the courtyard behind the secret annex in Amsterdam, has conker canker; great strides and a lot of money has been put in to try and save this tree but the jury is still out as to whether it will be possible.
The leaf minor moth is another threat to the horse chestnut tree; it’s arrived in England from the continent and is sweeping its way northwards; the moth attacks the leaf of the tree and inhibits photosynthesis to take place. Although the tree can recover from this disease, usually by the following year, it nevertheless weakens the tree and makes it more susceptible to other kinds of diseases such as the conker canker.
Besides these dreadful afflictions that are already taking its toll, we also have the fruit, the nut/conker, of this great tree being under attack. It’s under attack not by any natural disease but rather by a group of kill joys. In most British schools the game of conkers is frowned on and in some cases banned altogether. It appears that the game is too dangerous particularly for fear of loss of sight. There is one school that has tried to keep the tradition alight by providing safety goggles to its pupils. It seems gone are the days when kids are seen furtively sneaking out of gardens with their bounty of conkers; gone maybe the times when you’ve proudly produced the champion conker after soaking it for days in vinegar to toughen it up.
Besides the game of conkers there have been down the ages many more uses for the conker.
During the two world wars, the conker was used to produce acetone, by a process of fermentation, which was important for the production of smokeless gunpowder.
They were also used as whitening and cleaning agent for natural fabrics; when ground and mixed with water they produce a soapy-like substance. Starch was also another of its spinoffs.
It’s known that spiders detest the conker; if you drill a whole at each end of the nuts and strategically place them around the areas such as the windowsill or on the floor near the doors they act as a spider repellant.
Ironically, both my mother and grandmother use to put them amongst their clothes in drawers, to deter MOTHS.
The medicinal use of the horse chestnut’s fruit is numerous. As just one example, the North-Eastern, American Indians, crushed the nuts to make a form of snuff to help alleviate the symptoms of a cold
In the east, going right back in history, the people use to feed the nuts to their horses in order to make their coats shiny; however this practice is no longer the case; it wasn’t because of this that the horse chestnut got its name it was probably more likely that its name came from the horseshoe-shaped scarring that was left behind when the leaf dropped off the branches in the autumn.
My own front garden boasts a beautiful horse chestnut whose shade in the summer cushions the house from traffic noise. The tree is a masterpiece of sculpture in itself and is admired by most who venture up the garden path. I am therefore extremely nervous in particular about the minor moth. At the moment the moth is spreading its way up from the south and as I live in the north I’m forever vigilant. What can I do, other than keep the surrounding area of the tree, free of fallen leaves, a breeding habitat for the minor moth and ultimately, keep my fingers crossed; as for the conker canker, well that has to remain in the lap of the gods until or when a cure is discovered
In the meantime Britain’s skyline is going to look somewhat diminished at the loss of such magnificent trees.
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Author Bio Box: Ann Evans
aesculus hippocastanum
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