Trees Planet: Castanea sativa - Sweet Chestnut

Monday, August 5, 2013

Castanea sativa - Sweet Chestnut - Spanish Chestnut

General Information

Common Name	Sweet Chestnut, Spanish Chestnut
Scientific Name	Castanea sativa
Sun Tolerance	Full Sun
Height	20–35 m (65–100 ft)
Spread	12–18 m (40–60 ft)
Growth Rate	Medium
Bloom Time	Summer
Color	Green
Flower Color	White
Type	Tree
Native	Europe

Classification

Kingdom	Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass	Hamamelididae
Order	Fagales
Family	Fagaceae – Beech family
Genus	Castanea Mill. – chestnut
Species	C. sativa

Castanea sativa - Sweet Chestnut - Spanish Chestnut

Castanea sativa commonly known as Sweet Chestnut also known as Spanish Chestnut is native to the Mediterranean region. People like it as a source of nuts for food. It was abundant in the Forest of Dean by the eleventh century. As a stately tree it reaches some 30 m (100 feet) in height.

The twigs are smooth or slightly downy, angular (five-sided), bear prominent lenticels and are shiny olive-green to purplish-brown. The roundish winter buds are set alternately on little edges and yellowish-green to brown. The leaves are bronze to khaki when opening and long (often up to 9 in) with sharply toothed margins and veins which continue as bristles beyond the teeth.

Both male and female flowers lie on a slender yellow spike (that resembles a pipe-cleaner), the females being at its base, they open in July. The edible fruit (‘chestnut’) ripens during October in a green husk (cupule) which is clad in a mass of green sharp spikes. The brown nuts are usually in threes and sometimes infertile.

In young trees the bark is smooth and grayish-green, but with age it becomes grayish-grown and deeply fissured, the fissures at the base of the trunk often forming to several feet. Some trees carry burrs which are found high up the bole. The wood has the strength and durability of oak, with thinner sapwood, but whereas oak has conspicuous radiating (medullary) rays, those of chestnut are very fine and virtually invisible. It is apt to be ‘shaky’ (having radial or circular cracks), or to have spiral grain, but it has the important property of being easily split (cleft). It finds a ready sale for chestnut fencing, hop poles, posts and stakes. When large the wood is often a substitute for oak in furniture and in buildings.

Chestnut is frequently grown as a coppice crop. It thrives on warm, sandy soils, but is unhappy on most calcareous formations. The tree requires a mild climate and adequate moisture for good growth and a good nut harvest. Its year-growth (but not the rest of the tree) is sensitive to late spring and early autumn frosts, and is intolerant of lime. Under forest conditions, it will tolerate moderate shade well. The use as food and an ornamental tree caused it to be introduced throughout western Europe; localised populations and cultivation also occur on other continents.