Castanea crenata

What to Eat

Edible parts: Nuts, Seeds

The seeds can be eaten raw or cooked and serve as a potato substitute and a source of starch. Flavor is generally very poor — coarse and of little value — though quality varies considerably between individual plants. Any astringency can be removed by boiling the seeds in salted water.

Dangerous Lookalikes

This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.

VERY TOXIC

Horse Chestnut (Conker)

Aesculus hippocastanum

SAFE

Japanese chestnut

Castanea crenata

Horse Chestnut (Conker): Round smooth nuts (conkers), bumpy green husk (not very spiny), palmate compound leaves (like a hand).

Japanese chestnut: Nuts with pointed tassel, very spiny bur casing, simple toothed leaves.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It can tolerate wet and humid weather and hot summers up to 30°C. It needs night time winter temperatures of 0-4°C for flowers and fruit. In Hawaii this is above about 1300 m altitude. It is resistant to chestnut blight.

Asia, Australia, China, Cuba, Hawaii, Japan*, Korea, North America, Pacific, Taiwan, USA, West Indies,

How to Identify

It can be a small bush to a large tree. It can be 15 m tall. It often has several stems. The leaf blade is long and sword shaped. It is 8-19 cm long. There are hairs underneath. There are also yellow-brown scales underneath. The base is wedge shaped or rounded. There are fine teeth along the edge. The male flower is 7-20 cm long. There are 3 female flowers together. The cups are 5-6 cm across. They are covered with spine like bracts. These are 1-1.5 cm long. There are 2-3 nuts per cup. These are 2-3 cm across. There are fine hairs at the tip.

Nutrition Score: 65/100

How to Grow

Prefers a good well-drained slightly acid loam but succeeds in dry soils. Once established, it is very drought tolerant. Very tolerant of highly acid, infertile dry sands. Averse to calcareous soils but succeeds on harder limestones. The majority of species in this genus only really thrive in areas with hot summers, though this species is better adapted to British conditions than most. Cultivated for its edible seed in Japan, there are many named varieties. It is often also cultivated for its seed in America because it is fairly resistant to chestnut blight. Individual trees are very variable with regard to size of the seed, resistance to blight and astringency of the seed. Some cultivars have the largest seeds of any member of this genus. Trees fruit freely when only 3 - 3.5 metres tall. This species is occasionally planted as a timber tree in S. Europe. An excellent soil-enriching understorey in pine forests. Flowers are produced on wood of the current year's growth. Plants are fairly self-sterile. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.

Propagation: Sow seed as soon as it is ripe, either in a cold frame or in an outdoor seedbed, and protect it from mice and squirrels. The seed has short viability and must not be allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist in a cool place such as the salad compartment of a fridge for a few months, but should be checked regularly for signs of germination. Germination typically occurs in late winter or early spring. Seedlings raised outdoors can be left in situ for one to two years before being moved to permanent positions. Plants grown in pots can go out to permanent positions in summer or autumn, with some cold protection in their first winter.

Medicinal Uses

None known.

Other Uses

The bark, leaves, wood, and seed husks all contain tannin. The wood is hard, strong, light, and very durable, and is used for furniture, construction, fence posts, and similar applications.

Castanea crenata, the Japanese chestnut or Korean chestnut, is a species of chestnut native to Japan and Korea. Castanea crenata exhibits resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi, the fungal pathogen that causes ink disease in several Castanea species. The mechanism of resistance of Castanea crenata to Phytophthora cinnamomi may derive from its expression of the Cast_Gnk2-like gene.

Production

Seedling trees have borne nuts in 2 years.

Other Information

It is important throughout Japan. It is a cultivated food crop.

Notes

All Castanea bear edible nuts. There are about 12 Castanea species.

More from Fagaceae

Castanea alnifolia

Bush chinkapin, Florida chinkapin, Trailing chinkapin, Downy chinquapin

Castanea dentata

American chestnut, American sweet chestnut

Castanea henryi

Zhui li, Conic chestnut

Castanea mollissima

Chinese chestnut

Castanea ozarkensis

Ozark chinkapin, Ozark chestnut

Castanea pumila

Chinquapin, Allegheny chinkapin, Virginia chestnut