The American chestnut is a large deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. The American chestnut was one of the most important forest trees throughout its range and was considered the finest chestnut tree in the world. However, the species was devastated by chestnut blight, a fungal disease that came from chestnut trees introduced from East Asia. It is estimated that between 3 and 4 billion American chestnut trees were destroyed in the first half of the 20th century...

As summer approaches plants begin to bloom and if you’re anything like me, then pollen allergies have struck in force. As much of a pain this is for so many, pollen and the plants that produce it serve a much higher purpose then to simply make one sneeze. Pollen is the substance that comes from flowering plants that allows them to bloom and reproduce, but this process doesn’t occur on its own. In fact there is an entire category of insects known as “pollinators” who spread it from one...