In this week’s episode of Plant People, Michael Goergen of The American Chestnut Foundation joins us to discuss the tragic history—and hopeful future—of one of North America’s most iconic trees.

In the early 20th century, chestnut blight arrived in North America, a parasitic fungus that went on to kill an estimated four billion American chestnut trees. But more than a century later, work is underway to cultivate a chestnut tree that can resist the fungus—and thrive doing it.