Stone conical chestnut tree
Castanopsis lamontii

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 8-15 m high. It can be 25 m tall. The leaf stalk is 1.5-3 cm long. The leaf blade is oval and 12-30 cm long by 4-10 cm wide. They are thickly papery or leathery. There are 10-15 veins on each side of the midrib. The female flowering stalk is in the axils of leaves. It is borne above the male flowering stalk. The fruiting stalk is 10-20 cm long. The cup is round and 2.5-6 cm across. There are 2-3 nuts per cup. They are cone shaped. They are 2-2.8 cm long by 3 cm wide. They are densely hairy.

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

Where it is found

A tropical plant. They grow in mountain and broad-leaved evergreen forest between 500-2500 m altitude in China.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Indochina, SE Asia, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The nuts are eaten.

Edible parts

Nuts

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Lu jiao zhui

Synonyms

Castanopsis goniacantha A. Camus; Castanopsis lamontii var. shanghangensis Q. F. Zheng; Castanopsis pachyrachis Hickel & A. Camus; Castanopsis robustispina Hu;