Raffi at 06:59, 27 March 2007

2007-03-27T06:59:11Z

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{{Taxobox
| color = hotpink
| name = Chinese Chestnut
| image =
| image_width =
| image_caption =
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fagales]]
| familia = [[Fagaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Chestnut|Castanea]]''
| species = '''''C. mollissima'''''
| binomial = ''Castanea mollissima''
| binomial_authority = [[Carl Ludwig Blume|Blume]]
}}

The '''Chinese Chestnut''' (''Castanea mollissima''), a member of the family [[Fagaceae]], is a species of [[chestnut]] native to [[China]], where it occurs in the provinces of [[Anhui]], [[Fujian]], [[Gansu]], [[Guangdong]], [[Guangxi]], [[Guizhou]], [[Hebei]], [[Henan]], [[Hubei]], [[Hunan]], [[Jiangsu]], [[Jiangxi]], [[Liaoning]], [[Nei Mongol]], [[Qinghai]], [[Shaanxi]], [[Shandong]], [[Shanxi]], [[Sichuan]], [[Xizang]], [[Yunnan]], and [[Zhejiang]], and also to [[Taiwan]] and [[Korea]]. It grows close to sea level in the north of its range, and at altitudes of up to 2,800 m in the south of the range. The species prefers full sun and acidic, loamy [[soil]], and has a medium growth rate.

It is a [[deciduous]] [[tree]] growing to 20 m tall with a broad crown. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, simple, 10-22 cm long and 4.5-8 cm broad, with a toothed margin. The [[flower]]s are produced in [[catkin]]s 4-20 cm long, with the female flowers at the base of the catkin and males on the rest. The [[fruit]] is a densely spiny [[cupule]] 4-8 cm diameter, containing two or three glossy brown [[nut (fruit)|nut]]s; these are 2-3 cm diameter on wild trees. The scientific name ''mollissima'' derives from the softly downy shoots and young leaves.

===Cultivation and uses===
The nuts are edible, and the tree is widely cultivated in eastern [[Asia]]; over 300 [[cultivar]]s have been selected for nut production, subdivided into five major regional groups. Some cultivars, such as 'Kuling', 'Meiling', and 'Nanking', have large nuts up to 4 cm diameter. The nuts are sweet, and considered by some to have the best taste of any chestnut [http://www.biodiv.gov.cn/images_biodiv/resources/economic-tree-en.htm], though others state they are not as good as the [[American Chestnut]]. The nuts also provide a significant food source for [[wildlife]].

When cultivated in close proximity to other species of chestnut (including [[Japanese Chestnut]] ''C. crenata'', [[American Chestnut]] ''C. dentata'', and [[Sweet Chestnut]] ''C. sativa''), Chinese Chestnut readily cross-pollinates with them to form [[hybrid]]s.

Chinese chestnuts have evolved over a long period of time in coexistence with the bark [[fungus|fungal]] disease [[chestnut blight]] (''Cryphonectria parasitica'', formerly ''Endothia parasitica''), and have evolved a very successful resistance to the blight, probably more so than any other species of chestnut, so that, although it is not immune, it typically sustains no more than minor damage when infected. This is in stark contrast to the American Chestnut, which had no resistance to the blight, and was nearly wiped out by it after its introduction from Asia to [[North America]]. An active program has been pursued in North America to cross-breed Chinese and American Chestnuts to try to maximize the traits of the American Chestnut, such as larger stature, larger leaf size, larger nut size, and greater nut sweetness, while also isolating and carrying the blight resistance from the Chinese chestnut [http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/planting/].

==References and external links==
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006226 Flora of China: ''Castanea mollissima'']
*[http://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/udth/bin/fot1.exe/browse?bid=2&page=53 Flora of Taiwan: ''Castanea mollissima'']
*[http://orb2.at.ufl.edu/TREESServlet?command=getNorthernTree&classoid=1305 Chinese chestnut] fact sheet from [[University of Florida]]/[[Rutgers]]/[[U.S. Forest Service]]
*[http://arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?id=105 Chinese chestnut] tree detail from the [[Arbor Day|Arbor Day Foundation]]

[[Category:Fagaceae|Chestnut, Chinese]]

[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds|Chestnut, Chinese]]

Chinese Chestnut - Revision history

Raffi at 06:59, 27 March 2007