Kinds of Chestnut Trees

People have been eating chestnuts at least as long ago as biblical times, when Jacob mentions the tree. Chestnuts are deciduous trees of the beech family that grow in acidic soil in temperate regions. Their wood and their edible nuts make them important to humans.

American Chestnut

The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was one of the most important trees in U.S. history. These deciduous trees, which could grow 150 feet tall and 10 feet in diameter, were valued by early settlers for timber, food and shelter.

Unfortunately, chestnut blight, an Asian bark fungus imported by accident around 1904, has killed billions of American chestnuts. According to the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF), very few tree-sized American chestnuts remain. There are still millions of sprouts, however, though most will not live to bear fruit.

TACF is working on breeding the American chestnut tree with the blight-resistant Chinese chestnut tree. Eventually, TACF says, they hope to have an American chestnut that has only one characteristic of the Chinese chestnut: the blight resistant property.

Chinese Chestnut

Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) is native to China and Korea. It grows to about 60 feet tall and is wide-spreading. While it does have attractive, creamy white flowers, unfortunately the flowers have a foul odor. In the fall, its leaves turn yellow and bronze.

Japanese Chestnut

Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata) grows wild on the hills of its native Japan and South Korea. It is a medium-sized, deciduous tree. Its nuts are usually large, though with bad flavor.

European Chestnut

European chestnut (Castanea sativa) is also called the Sweet or Spanish chestnut. It is the only chestnut tree that grows in Europe. The European chestnut grows almost as tall as the American and is prized for its large, tasty fruit.

Allegheny Chinkapin

Allegheny chinkapin (Castanea pumila) is native to the eastern United States. It is more of a shrub or small tree, growing 6 to 20 feet tall. It has a smaller and rounder nut than the American chestnut.

Not Chestnuts

Trees mistaken for the chestnut include the chestnut oak (Fagaceae Quercus prinus), American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum).

References

• Chestnut Trees
• Chinese Chestnut

Resources

• Japanese Chestnut