Hairy conic chestnut
Castanopsis orthocantha

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 10-15 m high but can be 20 m high. The leaf stalk is about 1 cm long. The leaf blade is oval or sword shaped and is 7-14 cm long by 2.5-5 cm wide. It is leathery. The base is rounded. There can be teeth along the edge. There are 9-13 side veins each side of the mid vein. There are 3 female flowers per cup. The flowering stalk is 15 cm long. The cup is 3-3.5 cm across. It splits into 4 segments. There are 1-3 nuts per cup. They are cone shaped. They are 1-1.5 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 mixed and broad leafed evergreen forest in southern China. It grows between 1500-3200 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China

How it is used for food

The nuts are eaten raw.

Edible parts

Nuts, seeds

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Yuan jiang zhui

Synonyms

Castanopsis concolor Rehder & E.H.Wilson; Castanopsis mianningensis Hu; Castanopsis tenuinervis A. Camus; Castanopsis yanshanensis Hu;