National Collection of Imperiled Plants

CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Photographer:

J. Locklear

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Castanea pumila var. ozarkensis

Family:	Fagaceae
Common Names:	Ozark chestnut, Ozark chinquapin
Author:	(Ashe) Tucker
Growth Habit:	Tree
CPC Number:	799

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: J. Locklear

Castanea pumila var. ozarkensis is Fully Sponsored

Primary custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered Plants is:

Missouri Botanical Garden

Jim Locklear contributed to this Plant Profile.

Castanea pumila var. ozarkensis

The glory days of the Ozark chinquapin are past. Like the famous American chestnut of the Appalachian Mountains, Ozark chinquapin was decimated by the chestnut blight that was accidentally introduced into North America in the early part of the last century. Today, survivors of the blight hang on as stumps that send up new sprouts periodically, but which never live long enough to gain the stature of a tree.

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

Alabama
Arkansas
Missouri
Oklahoma

Habitat

Uplands and cliff margins and ridges, and at the base of talus slopes on limestone, sandstone and chert, or a combination of these. Occurs in dry oak-hickory or oak-pine forests, with white oak, black oak, scarlet oak, and shortleaf pine dominating. Flowering individuals occur in edge habitats. Ironwood strongly associated in Oklahoma (Schnell et al. 1977). Elevation 500-2800 ft.

Distribution

Centered in the Ozark Highlands of northwestern Arkansas (34 counties) and adjacent eastern Oklahoma (Adair, Cherokee, Choctaw, Delaware, Latimer, LeFlore, Mayes, McCurtain counties), and southwestern Missouri (Barry, Howell, Lawrence, McDonald, Oregon, and Newton counties). Known historically from north-central Alabama, but apparently eliminated there by chestnut blight.

Number Left

Unknown.

Protection

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Global Rank:	G5T3	1/10/1996	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	UR	1/19/1996	Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	No

State/Area Protection

State/Area	Rank	Status	Date

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

Threats

Chestnut blight, a fungal disease, kills trees before they mature. The fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica, formerly Endothia parasitica) destroys the inner bark and growing tissue of the tree. New stems sprout from dead stumps and live for several years until reinfected. It is not known how long infected stumps can continue to resprout.

Current Research Summary

� Despite ongoing research focused on American chestnut, no treatment has been found for chestnut blight.
� Successfully propagated from seed using 3 month cold/moist stratification pretreatment (Nebraska Statewide Arboretum).

Current Management Summary

� Conservation and protection in the wild is problematic until a treatment is developed for chestnut blight.
� Several individual Ozark chinquapin trees are in cultivation in Nebraska, outside of the historic range of this species and, apparently, outside of the natural range of chestnut blight fungus. These trees were propagated by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum from seed collected from wild populations in the Missouri Ozarks.

Research Management Needs

Ex Situ Needs

Until a treatment is developed for chestnut blight, ex situ conservation is the best hope for the survival of this species. However, chestnut seed is desiccation-sensitive and does not remain viable in long-term storage (Pence 1990). Cryopreservation of embryos is one possible storage option. The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum intends to develop an ex situ collection of living trees propagated from seed collected throughout the range of the Ozark chinquapin.

References

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Books (Single Authors)

2000. Missouri Plants of Conservation Concern. Jefferson City, MO: Conservation Commission of Missouri--Missouri Department of Conservation.

Nelson, P.W. 1985. The Terrestrial Natural Communities of Missouri. Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Department of Natural Resources. 197pp.p.

Smith, E.B. 1988. An Atlas and Annotated List of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas. 489p.

Steyermark, J.A. 1977. Flora of Missouri. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press. 1728p.

Journal Articles

Dane, F.; Hawkins, L.K.; Huang, H.W. 1999. Genetic variation and population structure of Castanea pumila var. ozarkensis. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 124, 6: 666-670.

Floyd, S.K.; Ranker, T.A. 1998. Analysis of a transition matrix model for Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis (Onagraceae) reveals spatial and temporal demographic variability. International Journal of Plant Sciences. 159, 5: 853-863.

Gagne, R.J.; Payne, J.A. 1992. A New Species of Harmandia (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) Damaging Leaves of Allegheny Chinkapin in Eastern United States and a Redescription of the Genus. Journal of Entomological Science. 27, 4: 383-391.

Johnson, G.P. 1988. Revision of Castanea Sect. Balanocastanon (Fagaceae). Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 69: 25-49.

Paillet, F.L. 1993. Growth Form and Life Histories of American Chestnut and Allegheny and Ozark Chinquapin at Various North American Sites. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 120, 3: 257-268.

Payne, J.A.; Miller, G.; Johnson, G.P.; Senter, S.D. 1994. Castanea pumila (L) Mill - an Underused Native Nut Tree. Hortscience. 29, 2: 62, 130-131.

Pence, V.C. 1990. Cryostorage of embryo axes of several large-seeded temperate tree species. Cryobiology. 27: 212-218.

Schnell, G.D.; Risser, P.G.; Helsel, J.F. 1977. Factor analysis of tree distribution patterns in Oklahoma. Ecology. 58: 1345-1355.

Tucker, G.E. 1975. Castanea pumila var. ozarkensis (Ashe) Tucker, comb. nov. Proceedings of the Arkansas Academy of Science. 29: 67-69.

Turner, L.M. 1935. Notes on forest types of northwestern Arkansas. American Midland Naturalist. 16, 3: 417-421.

Reports

Dane, F. 1998. Genetic Variation and Population Genetic Structure of the Ozark Chinkapin (Castanea pumila var. ozarkensis). Little Rock, AR: Arkansas National Heritage Commission. p.16.

Locklear, J. 1987. Plant Conservation Activities: 1987 Annual Report. Lincoln, NE: From the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum to the Center for Plant Conservation. p.3.

Morgan, S.W. 1980. Status report on Castanea ozarkensis Ashe. Jefferson City, MO: Unpublished report, Missouri Department of Conservation. p.17.

Theses

DeBacker, Michael David. 1996. Allozyme diversity and hybridization in Castanea pumila (section Balanocastanon, Fagaceae). [M.S. Thesis]: Southwest Missouri State University. 49p.

Johnson, George P. 1985. Revision of Castanea Section Balanocastanon (Fagaceae) (Ozark, Alabama). [Ph.D. Thesis]: North Carolina State University. 93p.

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This profile was updated on 3/4/2010