American chestnut

noun

plural American chestnuts

: a North American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) that was formerly a dominant or codominant member of many deciduous forests of the eastern U.S. but was largely eliminated by chestnut blight in the 20th century and seldom grows beyond the shrub or sapling stage

… the American chestnut clings to existence in New England's forests, in the form of stump sprouts that grow from the living root systems of long-fallen giants.

—Charles W. G. Smith

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above