Hairy chestnut
Castanopsis fordii
Family: Fagaceae
What it is like
A tree. The young parts have a brown velvety covering. The leaf stalk is 1-3 mm long. The leaf blade is oblong to sword shaped and 9-18 cm long by 3-7 cm wide. They are leathery. The base is heart shaped with ear like lobes. The edges turn up. The leaf narrows to a sharp tip. The main vein in sunken on the upper surface. There are 14-18 side veins on each side of the midrib. The flower arrangement is a dense spike. It is 6-12 cm long. The cup like structure in 5-6 cm across. It splits into 4 or occasionally 5 regular parts. There are spine like bracts over this cup. There is 1 nut per cup. These are cone shaped and 1.2-1.5 cm long by 1.5-2 cm wide. They are densely hairy.
There are about 120 Castanopsis species. Many have edible nuts.
Where it is found
They grow in broad leafed forest below 1200 m altitude in China.
Countries/locations it is found in
Asia, China (country/location of origin)
How it is used for food
The nuts are eaten raw.
Edible parts
Fruit, nuts
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Mao zhui