Castanea crenata

Japanese chestnut
File:Castanea crenata3.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Fagaceae
Genus:	Castanea
Species:	C. crenata
Binomial name
Castanea crenata Siebold & Zucc.

Castanea crenata (Japanese chestnut) is a species of chestnut originally native to Japan and South Korea. It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 10–15 m tall. The leaves are similar to those of the sweet chestnut, though usually a little smaller, 8–19 cm long and 3–5 cm broad. The flowers of both sexes are borne in 7–20 cm long, upright catkins, the male flowers in the upper part and female flowers in the lower part. They appear in summer, and by autumn, the female flowers develop into spiny cupules containing 3–7 brownish nuts that are shed during October.

Cultivation and uses

It is an important tree in Japan for its heavy production of sweet, edible nuts. A number of cultivars have been selected for large nut size. It is also widely cultivated in eastern China and Taiwan.

It is resistant to chestnut blight, and is of importance in North America in the development of disease-resistant hybrids with the highly susceptible American chestnut.

Examples of European X Japanese Hybrid Cultivars are:

• 'Colossal'
• ‘Bouche de Betizac’
• ‘Precoce Migoule’
• ‘Labor Day’

Gallery

• Castanea crenata 1.jpg
• Castanea crenata 2.jpg
• Castanea crenata 3.jpg
• Japanese Chestnut.jpg

References

• American Phytopathological Society: chestnut breeding