The chestnut tree, a species native to the region between the Balkans and Iran, has been cultivated in Europe for many centuries, probably millennia, where it has become naturalized and grows spontaneously. It occurs in a large part of Portugal, except in the central and southern coastal regions. The plant can be affected by various diseases caused by fungi but generally has great longevity, being able to live for hundreds of years.

It is a deciduous species, losing its leaves in winter and forming new ones in spring. While walking through Trás-os-Montes in May this year, with the chestnut trees full of young, light green leaves, I was surprised to see this chestnut tree, certainly dozens of years old, full of life, with young leaves, which will certainly produce chestnuts in autumn.

The base of the trunk was huge and covered with mosses and lichens. The tree had many branches that dried up and died but formed new ones, now full of leaves – an extraordinary tribute to life and a wonderful object to photograph.