Castanea sativa (Sweet Chestnut)

Also known as: Spanish Chestnut

Native: South Europe, north Africa, Asia Minor

Location: Cultivated in Europe for its edible nuts and ornament in parks and gardens, and in N. America as an ornamental.

Has a broad trunk, as much as 9-12m in girth.

Foliage

Leaves turn yellow then dark brown in October.

Flowers

No sample available

Flowers are open in late June and July when the male catkins about 15-25cm long shed their pollen. Female flowers are in clusters of five to six at the base of a short unopened male catkin.

Fruits

No sample available

Fruit ripens in one season, some trees producing one to two round nuts, some producing three to four flat nuts which are not good enough to eat.