Chinquapin, Allegheny chinkapin, Virginia chestnut
Castanea pumila

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

An evergreen tree. It grows 20-30 m tall. It can be a large suckering shrub. It is often 4.5 m tall and 6 m wide. The bark is red-brown and furrowed into scaly plates. The young shoots are downy. The young leaves are white and furry on the underside. The leaves are 7.5-15 cm long by 3-5 cm wide. They have many straight parallel side veins. There are many very small white male flowers in catkins 10-15 cm long. These are at the base of leaves. There are a few female flowers 3 mm long at the base of smaller catkins. The nuts are inside spiny burrs. The nuts themselves are like round pointed acorns. They are edible.

All Castanea bear edible nuts. There are about 12 Castanea species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It is very cold tolerant. It grows in many soil types. It grows up to 1300 m altitude in southern USA. It suits hardiness zones 6-9.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, North America, Ukraine, USA (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The nuts are eaten raw, roasted or ground as flour.

Edible parts

Nuts, seeds

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed. Seedlings need transplanting very early.

Trees bear in 4 years.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Castanea alnifolia Nutt.; Castanea alnifolia var. floridana Sarg.; Castanea pumila var. pumila; Fagus pumila L.;