chestnut blight

noun

, Plant Pathology.

1. a disease of chestnuts, especially the American chestnut, characterized by bark lesions that girdle and eventually kill the tree, caused by a fungus, Endothia parasitica.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chestnut blight¹

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

But his legacy came at a cost which Appalachia has paid ever since: The imported chestnut blight killed nearly 4 billion American chestnut trees across 200 million acres of US forest.

From Salon

When the 1904 chestnut blight hit, Flora was nearly a decade into her career at the USDA.

From Scientific American

American chestnuts were once the dominant tree species in the Eastern United States, until the chestnut blight of the early 1900s killed almost all of them.

From Washington Times

“You’ve got the American chestnut blight and the Dutch elm disease, but this seems extraordinarily rapid and severe.”

From Scientific American

"You've got the American chestnut blight and the Dutch elm disease, but this seems extraordinarily rapid and severe."

From Salon