Lesser red castanopsis
Castanopsis carlesii

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

An evergreen medium sized tree. It grows 15-20 m high. The trunk is 30-35 cm across. The leaf blade is sword shape and 4-12 cm long by 1-4.5 cm wide. It is leathery. There are 8-13 side veins on each side of the main vein. The cup is oval and 1-1.5 cm across. The outside is yellowish brown with felt like hairs. The nut is round to cone shaped.

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

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows 700-1300 m altitude. In China it grows in mixed and broad leafed evergreen forest below 1700 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Indochina, SE Asia, Taiwan, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The seeds contain edible starch. The nuts are edible raw. They are roasted and eaten.

Edible parts

Seeds, nuts

How it is grown

The tree is slow growing.

Its other names

Local names

Ca oi nho, Mi zhui

Synonyms

Quercus carlesii Hemsley; Castanopsis carlesii var. sessilis Nakai; Castanopsis cuspidata (Thunb.) Schottky var. carlesii (Hemsley) T. Yamazaki; Castanopsis longicaudata (Hayata) Nakai; Castanopsis stipitata (Hayata ex Koidz.) Nakai; Lithocarpus stipitatus Hayata ex Koidz.; Quercus longicaudata Hayata; Shiia carlesii (Hemsley) Kudo; Synaedrys carlesii (Hemsley) Koidz.;