Delavay's castanopsis, Yunnan conic chestnut
Castanopsis delavayi

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows about 20 m tall. The branches are smooth. The leaf stalk is about 07.-1.5 cm long. The leaf blade is oval or oblong and 5-13 cm long by 3-7 cm wide. The base is rounded. The edges have teeth and can be wavy. There are 6-9 side veins on each side of the main vein. The female flowering stalk is 10-15 cm long. The cup is oval to round. It is 1.5-2 cm across. It splits into 2 or 3 segments. There are yellowish-brown waxy scale like processes on the outside. The nut is oval. It is 1.3-1.4 cm across.

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

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in mixed and broad leafed evergreen forest between 1500-2800 m altitude in southern China.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The seeds are eaten raw.

Edible parts

Seeds, nuts

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Gao shan zhui

Synonyms

Castanopsis tsaii Hu; Synaedrys delavayi (Franchet) Koidzumi;