Chestnut

Chestnut trees are cultivated for their nuts or as ornamentals. Probably the most notable species was the large and graceful ornamental American chestnut (C. dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.) (fig. 73), which extended from Maine southwest to Arkansas (Munns 1938). It has been almost completely destroyed by blight. The Japanese chestnut (C. crenata Sieb. and Zucc.) and the Chinese chestnut (C. mollisima Blume) are both cultivated for their nuts. Chestnut is a deciduous tree or shrub, which is cultivated in a similar manner to other deciduous nut trees. It bears brown nuts, about an inch in diameter, which are usually consumed after they are roasted. From one to nine nuts are produced in a spiny involucre or burr.