''Castanea crenata'', the Japanese chestnut or Korean chestnut, is a species of

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

native to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. ''Castanea crenata'' exhibits resistance to ''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', also known as cinnamon fungus, is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "dieback", "root rot", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". O ...

'', the fungal pathogen that causes ink disease in several Castanea species. The mechanism of resistance of ''Castanea crenata'' to ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' may derive from its expression of the Cast_Gnk2-like gene.

Description

''Castanea crenata'' is a small to medium-sized

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

growing to tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are similar to those of the

sweet chestnut The sweet chestnut (''Castanea sativa''), also known as the Spanish chestnut or European chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A ...

, though usually a little smaller, long and broad. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s of both sexes are borne in long, upright catkins, the male flowers in the upper part and female flowers in the lower part. They appear in summer, and by autumn, the female flowers develop into spiny cupules containing 3–7 brownish

nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

that are shed during October.

Cultivation and uses

''Castanea crenata'' is an important tree in Japan and Korea for its heavy production of sweet, edible nuts. A number of

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been selected for large nut size. It is also widely cultivated in eastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It is resistant to

chestnut blight The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...

and to ink disease, and for these reasons is of importance in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in the development of disease-resistant hybrids and

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

of the

American chestnut The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the Fagaceae, beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in the genus ''Chestnut, Castanea'', the American chestnut produces Bur ...

, which is susceptible to both fungal pathogens. Examples of European × Japanese hybrid cultivars are: * ' Colossal' * ‘

Bouche de Betizac Bouche de Bétizac is a French chestnut cultivar developed in 1962 by INRA at the station of Malemort-sur-Corrèze near Brive. It is a controlled hybrid between Castanea sativa and Castanea crenata (female Bouche rouge × male Castanea crenata CA ...

’ * ‘

Precoce Migoule The Precoce Migoule is a chestnut hybrid (CA 48), a natural cross between a European chestnut (Castanea sativa) and a Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata). It was discovered by J. Dufrenoy at the orchard of Migoule in Brive-la-Gaillarde. The tree ...

’ * ‘Labor Day’ ''C. crenata'' produces more biomass in its stems when the nuts are smaller and planted deeper.

Gallery

Castanea crenata.jpg, Chestnut fruit Peeled chestnuts.jpg, Peeled chestnuts Image:Castanea crenata 1.jpg, Male flower Image:Castanea crenata 2.jpg Image:Castanea crenata 3.jpg Image:Korean chestnut (Castanea crenata).jpg, Shell opened naturally on the ground Image:Japanese Chestnut.jpg Image:Chestnut tree02.jpg, Trees

References

American Phytopathological Society: chestnut breeding
{{Taxonbar, from=Q717827 crenata Trees of Japan Trees of Korea Edible nuts and seeds Plants described in 1846 Taxa named by Philipp Franz von Siebold Taxa named by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini