The American chestnut tree once covered approximately 180 million acres of the eastern United States and was valued for its straight-grained, rot resistant, durable lumber, earning it the name "cradle to grave" tree because it was used to make many everyday items. Gathering chestnuts was both a social activity and a source of income throughout the Appalachians from Maine to Mississippi, especially in rural communities. Chestnuts were a primary food source for wildlife and livestock and were also a staple for people, used in many recipes and often sold roasted by street vendors. In the late 1800s, the fungal pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica, which causes chestnut blight, arrived from Asia, and by 1950 it had killed an estimated 4 billion trees. The American Chestnut Foundation combines Breeding, Biocontrol and Biotechnology United for Restoration under its 3BUR concept to restore the species. About 100 chestnut trees are being grown in a Germplasm Conservation Orchard to preserve the genetic diversity of surviving northern New England chestnut trees, having been started from nuts collected from about 25 different mother trees growing wild in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, and once they reach reproductive maturity they will help diversify the genetic base of American chestnut restoration efforts.