Gon chestnut
Castanopsis argyrophylla

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

A tree. The branches and leaf blades are smooth. The shoots are blackish brown when dry. The leaf stalk is 1-2.5 cm long. The blade is oval or sword shaped. It is 10-20 cm long by 4-7 cm wide. It is thickly leathery. The base is heart shaped or rounded. It tapers to the tip and can have a sharp tip. There are 10-13 side veins. The fruiting stalk is 10-25 cm long. The cup is round and 2.5-3.5 cm across. It is softly hairy when young. It has spine like bracts. The nut often occurs singly but there may be 3. They are round but flattened. They are 1.5-1.8 cm across. They are densely hairy.

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

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in broad-leaved evergreen forest between 1000-1500 m altitude in Southern China.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, India, Indochina, Laos, Myanmar, SE Asia, Thailand, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw or boiled.

Nuts are sold in local markets.

Edible parts

Nuts, seeds

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seeds.

There are about 300 nuts per kg.

Its other names

Local names

Fa-hear, Gon, Ko doi, Kysin, Mai-kaw, Mangdeng, Say saa, Thit-e, Thittat, Yin ye zhui

Synonyms

Castanopsis tribuloides var. ferox Kurz.;