Woody > Castanea > Castanea dentata > Castanea dentata
Castanea dentata
American Chestnut
Mike's
Opinion
"
A very rare tree once a large tree now most remnants are stump sprouts in forests.
Michael Pascoe, NDP., ODH., CLT., MSc. (Plant Conservation)
"
| Family |
| Fagaceae |
| Genus |
| Castanea |
| Species |
| dentata |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Tree (deciduous) |
| Pronunciation |
| Height |
| 5 - 30 m |
| Spread |
| 3 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| A very fast growing deciduous hardwood tree, however chestnut blight has become obsolete to this species. |
| Shape |
| Large rounded canopy. |
| Growth |
| Fast |
| ID Characteristic |
| Fruit a large bur, dense and spiny, the chestnut is edible. Long white catkins during flowering. |
| Pests |
| Chestnut blight, caused by an Asian bark fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) which is an airborne fungus spreading and killing millions of chestnut trees. |
| Habitat |
| Forests in the Carolinian zone, including rare occurrences in Southern Ontario, Canada. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Young bark is smooth and dark brown, mature bark has flat-topped ridges. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| Ovoid, 5 – 10 mm in length, greenish-brown in colour, with a couple hairless scales, and many vein scars. |
| Leaf Description |
| 15 to 30 cm long, alternate, simple. Gradually tapering to both ends. Straight veins with large bristle-tipped teeth. |
| Flower Description |
| Pollen flowers and seed flowers found on the same tree. Flowers appear in great masses of white coloured catkins on the larger trees. |
| Fruit Description |
| Edible nut, found in small clusters surrounded by a spiny bur like husk. Each nut ovoid is brownish, smooth and flat on one side, wrapped in tan velvet. |
| Colour Description |
| Yellowish-green. |
| Texture Description |
| Medium. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Skunks Misery, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada. |
References
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