Chinese castanopsis
Castanopsis chinensis

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

An evergreen tree. It is medium sized. It grows 10-20 m high. The leaf stalk is 1.5-2 cm long. The leaf blade is sword shaped. It is 7-18 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. It is papery to leathery. It is the same colour on both sides. The base is rounded. There are teeth on the edge towards the tip. The tip is heart shaped. There are 9-12 side veins on each side of the main vein. The female flowering stalk is produced on the ends of new small branches. The flowering stalk is 8-15 cm long with one flower per cup. The cup is round and 2.5-3.5 cm across. It splits into 3-5 parts. The outside is greyish brown and hairy when young. There are spine like bracts over the outside. The nut is cone shaped. It is 1.2-1.6 cm long by 1-1.3 cm wide.

There are about 120 Castanopsis species. Many have edible nuts.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows between 200-1500 m altitude in central Vietnam. In China it grows in mixed and broad leafed evergreen forest below 1500 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Indochina, SE Asia, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The nuts are eaten raw or roasted. They contain 20% oil.

Edible parts

Nuts

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Ca oi trun hoa, Zhui

Synonyms

Castanea chinensis Spreng.; Castanopsis remotiserrata Hu; Castanopsis sinensis A. Chev. [Illegitimate]; Quercus argyi H. Lev.;