Chestnuts

Chestnuts (Castanea), including the chinkapins, are a genus of eight or nine species of trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the nuts produced by these trees. Most are tall trees to 30-40m tall, but some species (the chinkapins) are shrubby. All are deciduous. The nuts are commonly eaten roasted or candied; the latter are often sold under the French name marrons glacés.

The American chestnut, formerly one of the dominant trees of the eastern United States, has been almost wiped out by chestnut blight. The American chinkapins are also very susceptible. The European and west Asian Sweet chestnut is slightly susceptible, but less so than the American, and the east Asian species are resistant. These resistant species, particularly C. crenata and C. mollissima but also C. seguinii and C. henryi, have been used in breeding programs in the US to create hybrids with the American chestnut that are also disease resistant.

The name chestnut is also commonly applied to several species in the unrelated genus Aesculus (family Sapindaceae), usually in compound form 'horse chestnut', 'horse-chestnut' or 'horsechestnut'. The nuts of this genus are inedible, 'only fit for horses', hence the name.

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fagales Family: Fagaceae Genus: Castanea