Chinese Chestnut

''Castanea mollissima'', also known as the Chinese chestnut, is an Asian species of chestnut tree in the family Fagaceae.

Description

It is a deciduous tree growing to tall with a broad crown. The leaves are alternate, simple, long and broad, with a toothed margin. The flowers are produced in catkins long, with the female flowers at the base of the catkin and males on the rest. The fruit is a densely spiny cupule diameter, containing two or three glossy brown nuts; these are diameter on wild trees. The scientific name ''mollissima'' derives from the softly downy shoots and young leaves.

Taxonomy

Synonyms: ''Castanea bungeana'' Blume; ''C. duclouxii'' Dode; ''C. fargesii'' Dode; ''C. formosana'' (Hayata) Hayata; ''C. hupehensis'' Dode; ''C. mollissima'' var. ''pendula'' X. Y. Zhou & Z. D. Zhou; ''C. sativa'' Miller var. ''formosana'' Hayata; ''C. sativa'' var.'' mollissima'' (Blume) Pampanini; ''C. vulgaris'' Lamarck var. ''yunnanensis'' Franchet.

In Vietnam, Chinese chestnuts which are grown in Trùng Khánh district, Cao Bằng province have highest quality with 3.3-5.4% glucose, 43.36–46.47% glucid, 1.16–2% lipid, 3.12–3.62% protein analyzed by Vietnam National Vegetable and Fruit Researching Institution in 1999.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to China, Taiwan, and Korea.

Chinese chestnut has been cultivated in East Asia for millennia and its exact original range cannot be determined. In the provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, and Zhejiang, and also to Taiwan and Korea. It grows close to sea level in the north of its range, and at altitudes of up to 2,800 m in the south of the range. The species prefers full sun and acidic, loamy soil, and has a medium growth rate.Flora of Taiwan
''Castanea mollissima''

Ecology

When cultivated close to other species of chestnut (including Japanese chestnut, American chestnut and sweet chestnut), Chinese chestnut readily cross-pollinates with them to form hybrids.Sisco, P. H., ''et al.'' 2005 An Improved Genetic Map for ''Castanea mollissima''/''Castanea dentata'' and its Relationship to the Genetic Map of ''Castanea sativa''. ''Acta Hort''. 693
Abstract.
/ref>

Chinese chestnuts have evolved over a long period of time in coexistence with the bark fungal disease chestnut blight (''Cryphonectria parasitica'', formerly ''Endothia parasitica''), and have evolved a very successful resistance to the blight, probably more so than any other species of chestnut, so that, although it is not immune, it typically sustains no more than minor damage when infected. It's important to realize, though, that Chinese chestnut trees vary considerably in blight resistance. Some individuals are quite susceptible while others are essentially immune to the disease. Japanese chestnut is also comparatively resistant to blight, with European chestnut somewhat less so. In the 1890s, Chinese and Japanese chestnuts were imported to the United States with the intention of utilizing them as orchard trees due to their small, compact size compared to the towering American chestnut. The results unfortunately were disastrous as the imported Asian species introduced blight to which ''C. dentata'' lacked any resistance. The disease was first noticed on a tree in the Bronx Zoo in 1904 and quickly spread out of control, ravaging American chestnut trees. Within 30 years, there were virtually none left in their native range. An active program has been pursued in North America to cross-breed the Chinese and American chestnuts to try to maximize various desirable traits of the American chestnut, such as larger stature, greater nut sweetness, while also isolating and carrying the blight resistance from the Chinese chestnut.FAO
Chestnut blight
/ref>

The nuts provide a significant food source for wildlife.

Uses

The nuts are edible, and the tree is widely cultivated in eastern Asia; over 300 cultivars have been selected for nut production, subdivided into five major regional groups: Northern, Yangtze River Valley, Sichuan and Guizhou, Southern, and Southwestern. Besides that, the Dandong chestnut (belonging to the Japanese chestnut – ''Castanea crenata'') is a major cultivar in Liaoning Province.Economic forest trees
. Some cultivars, such as 'Kuling', 'Meiling', and 'Nanking', have large nuts up to 4 cm diameter. The nuts are sweet, and considered by some to have the best taste of any chestnut,Biodiversity of China

though others state they are not as good as the American chestnut.''Castanea mollissima: Chinese chestnut''
By Edward F. Gilman and Dennis G. Watson. This is one of a series of documents from the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
University of Florida. Original publication date November 1993. Revised December 2006.

References

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{{Taxonbar , from = Q699584

mollissima
Edible nuts and seeds
Crops originating from China
Trees of China
Trees of Korea
Trees of Taiwan
Trees of Vietnam