Luo fu zhui
Castanopsis fabri

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 8-20 m tall. The young shoots have a few hairs. The leaf stalk can be 1.5 cm long. The leaf blade is oval or sword shaped. It is 8-18 cm long by 2.5-5 cm wide. It is leathery. The base is rounded and unequal on each side. The edges have teeth. It tapers to the tip. There are 9-15 side veins on each side of the mid vein. The mid vein is sunken. The stalk of the male flowers has a few hairs. The female flowers are 2-3 per cup. The flowering structure is 8-17 cm long. The cup is 2-4 cm across. It splits open irregularly. There are usually 2 nuts per cup but there can be 1 or 3. The nuts are cone shaped and 1-1.4 cm across by 1-1.2 cm wide.

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

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in broad leafed evergreen forest between 100-2000 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

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

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Nuts

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Castanopsis brevispina Hayata; Castanopsis brevistella Hayata & Kanchira ex A. Camus; Castanopsis ceratacantha Rehder & E.H.Wilson var. semiserrata (Hickel & A Camus) A.Camus; Castanopsis hickelii A.Camus; Castanopsis kusanoi Hayata; Castanopsis matsudai Hayata ex A.Camus; Castanopsis ninbienensis Hickel & A.Camus; Castanopsis quangtriensis Hickel & A.Camus; Castanopsis semiserrata Hickel & A.Camus; Castanopsis sinsuiensis Kanehira; Castanopsis stellatospina Hayata; Castanopsis tenuispinula Hickel & A.Camus; Castanopsis traninhensis Hickel & A.Camus;