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Castanea dentata

Authority (Marshall) Borkh. Family Magnoliopsida:Hamamelidae:Fagales:Fagaceae Synonyms Common names American chestnut, castanheiro da America, chataignier de l'Amerique, prickly bur Editor Ecocrop code 4313

Notes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Fast-growing deciduous tree with simple leaves, erect catkins. Fruit 1-3 nuts, brown, coriaceous, in a swollen, spiny cupule which dehisces irregularly by 2-3 valves. The American chestnuts is bigger and sweeter than Chinese and European chestnuts. USES The nuts are eaten raw, roasted, boiled or dried, or ground and prepared into soup, chocolates, pastries, etc. The light, soft timber is durable and used for fencing, gates, furniture, poles, paneling, etc. Bark and wood extracts used for tanning leather. KILLING T Flowers will not tolerate frost. GROWING PERIOD Perennial, require 2 years to bearing for grafted seedlings, and 8 years for ungrafted seedlings. COMMON NAMES American chestnut. FURTHER INF American chestnut is native to USA, east of the Mississippi River. It is adapted to low to medium humidity in summer, and medium to high in winter. The commercial potential of the tree as a source of timber and nuts has been seriously affected by chestnut blight, a fungal disease. Trees usually reach about 4-6 m in height before the blight visibly affects their growth and they rarely survive to produce substantial yields.
Sources
SOURCES (Castanea dentata Borkh.) Roecklein J 1987 pp 415 [USE, LIMITS] Duke J 1975 pp 11 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] Sims D (pers. comm.) Woodroof J 1979 pp 235-237 [LIMIT, USE] Wickens G 1995 pp 21-23 [USE, LIMITS]