Japanese chestnut
Castanea crenata

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

It can be a small bush to a large tree. It can be 15 m tall. It often has several stems. The leaf blade is long and sword shaped. It is 8-19 cm long. There are hairs underneath. There are also yellow-brown scales underneath. The base is wedge shaped or rounded. There are fine teeth along the edge. The male flower is 7-20 cm long. There are 3 female flowers together. The cups are 5-6 cm across. They are covered with spine like bracts. These are 1-1.5 cm long. There are 2-3 nuts per cup. These are 2-3 cm across. There are fine hairs at the tip.

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

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It can tolerate wet and humid weather and hot summers up to 30°C. It needs night time winter temperatures of 0-4°C for flowers and fruit. In Hawaii this is above about 1300 m altitude. It is resistant to chestnut blight.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, China, Cuba, Hawaii, Japan (country/location of origin), Korea, North America, Pacific, Taiwan, USA, West Indies

How it is used for food

The nuts are eaten raw. They are also boiled, roasted or seasoned with sugar. If the variety is astringent, the kernels are boiled in salted water.

It is important throughout Japan. It is a cultivated food crop.

Edible parts

Nuts, seeds

How it is grown

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

Seedling trees have borne nuts in 2 years.

Its other names

Local names

Bamnamu, Castano del Japon, Kuri, Pamnamu, Ri ben li, Sanbamnamu, Yam, Yam-sey

Synonyms

Castanea japonica Blume; Castanea pubinervis (Makino) C. K. Schneid., nom. inval.; Castanea stricta Siebold & Zucc.; Castanea vesca var. pubinervis Hassk.; and others