Species: Castanea sativa Mill.

(Castanea sativa Mill.)
-> Genus: Castanea -> Family: Fagaceae -> Group: Angiosperms

Habitus

  • in its natural habitat it grows to a height of 30 - 40 m
  • as a solitary tree it is a massive tree
  • the crown is broadly oval and spreading
  • the bark is brownish-grey
  • the bork is dark brown, deeply network-cracked, and firm

Buds

  • they are arranged in a spiral, egg-shaped, significantly inclined from the twig, measuring 4 - 7 x 3 - 5 mm in size
  • The scale leaves are yellow-green, later turning reddish-brown.

Shoots

  • young branches are green-brown, slightly ribbed, later becoming grey-brown to reddish-brown
  • lenticels are small, whitish, and prominent
  • leaf cushions are elevated, with the leaf stalk being triangular

Leaves (assimilation organs)

  • simple (feather-like), elongated elliptic to lanceolate, sharply pointed at the tip, wedge-shaped to slightly heart-shaped at the base, 8 - 22 x 4 - 8 cm in size
  • with long sharp serrations along the margin
  • the upper side dark green and glossy, the underside yellowish green
  • petiole is 1.5 - 3.0 cm long, hairy

Flowers

  • it is a  monoecious woody plant, flowers are either hermaphroditic or unisexual,  it blooms from June until full leafing
  • male flowers are clustered in groups of 7 in catkins 10-15 cm long and erect
  • female flowers grow at the lower part of male catkins, arranged in groups of 3 in a common calyx (cup)
  • catkins, which also bear female flowers, grow in the upper parts of the shoots above catkins with only male flowers

Fruits – seeds

  • the fruit is a broadly oval achene, 1.5 - 3.0 x 2.0 - 3.5 cm in size, dark brown with a pointed top and silvery hairy, flat on one side and bulging (rounded) on the other
  • the achenes are arranged in groups of 2 - 3 in a long-spined round cup that splits open with 3 - 4 flaps
  • it ripens from September to October.

Extension

  • originally expanded in the Mediterranean region, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus
  • considering the ancient culture of its cultivation (already in the 5th century AD), it is now difficult to determine its natural range of distribution
  • in Slovakia, it is grown in larger quantities in the warmest areas at several locations (Jelenec near Nitra, Radošina, Chtelnica)

Ecology

  • it is a thermophilic, semi-shaded woody plant
  • it thrives well on acidic, sufficiently deep, and moist soils

Significance

  • it is a significant fruit-bearing tree
  • fruits – chestnuts have wide possibilities of use
  • it is a decorative tree in gardens and parks
  • it produces quality wood, with properties and uses similar to oak wood in deep and moist soils

From history

Podporiť atlasdrevin.sk