Castanea sativa
Castanea sativa
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Castanea sativa
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Description

Castanea sativa, commonly known as the sweet chestnut or the Spanish chestnut, is a deciduous hardwood tree native to Southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world.

Growing Details

Sweet chestnut trees are generally monoecious, bearing both male and female flowers on the same tree. The male flowers are large, 2.5–4 cm long, borne in 10–20 cm long catkins; the female flowers are much smaller, borne on 1–2 cm long catkins. The fruit is a spiny cupule 5–9 cm in diameter, containing two to three large nuts. The nuts develop during late summer and fall, and ripen 7–8 weeks after pollination. The sweet chestnut is a diploid species, with 22 chromosomes, and is self-incompatible. The tree reaches 20–35 m tall and 1 m trunk diameter when mature, on average. Large trees can attain 46 m height and 1.75 m diameter.

Edible Parts
Seed
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Keystone Specie Hedge Carbon Farming Attracts Wildlife Fire Wood Building Wood Windbreak Erosion Preventing Bee Friendly Visual Appeal
Range (Based on GBIF Data)

The map shows known occurrence points of Castanea sativa recorded in scientific biodiversity databases.

Source: GBIF.org — Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Location & Timing
Geolocation: Krcedin
Region: Europe - Panonian plain
Language: english
Native: Yes
Flowering: beginning of July for 30 days
Fruiting: beginning of October for 30 days
Seed Start: beginning of October
Indoor Start:
Transplant:
Uses & Benefits
Edible Rating: (5/5)
Edible Uses: The sweet chestnut is the source of the chestnut of the horse-chestnut family Aesculus, from which the large sweet edible nuts of the beech family Fagaceae are also sometimes called chestnuts. The sweet chestnut should not be confused with the horse-chestnut, water chestnut or Chinese chestnut.
Medicinal Rating: (2/5)
Medicinal Uses:
Health Concerns:
Other Uses: The wood is light, hard, strong and close-grained; it is pale brown, but when cut it is of a yellowish tinge. The sapwood is thin, while the heartwood is very resistant to decay. It weighs 45–65 lb per cubic foot. Sweet chestnut is used for furniture, interior joinery, flooring, fence posts, railway sleepers and vine posts. It is also a popular firewood, as it burns long and hot. It is also used in charcoal production. Sweet chestnut is a traditional material for the manufacture of cudgels and walking sticks, and can also be used for turnery and carving.
Scientific Literature

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Botanical Data
Specie: Castanea sativa
Common Names: Pitomi kesten
Family: Fagaceae
Sub Family: Fagoideae
Tribe: Castaneae
Sub Tribe: Castaneinae
Genus: Castanea
Growing Conditions
Area Needed: 10.0 m
Spacing: 5.0 m
Growing Difficulty: Medium
Deciduous / Evergreen: Evergreen
Seed Temp (Opt/Min/Max): 20°C / 10°C / 30°C
Plant Temp (Opt/Min/Max): 20°C / -10°C / 30°C
Water: Medium
Humidity:
Light: High
Root Type: Deep
Frost Tender: Low
Hardness: █ █ █ █ █ ▁ ▁ ▁ ▁ ▁ (5/10)
First Harvest: 20 years
Lifespan: 500 years
Succession: Late
Growth Rate: Slow
Max Height: 30.0 m
Max Width: 15.0 m
Soil Preference:
pH Preference:
Flower Type: Monoecious
Growth Details: Sweet chestnut trees are generally monoecious, bearing both male and female flowers on the same tree. The male flowers are large, 2.5–4 cm long, borne in 10–20 cm long catkins; the female flowers are much smaller, borne on 1–2 cm long catkins. The fruit is a spiny cupule 5–9 cm in diameter, containing two to three large nuts. The nuts develop during late summer and fall, and ripen 7–8 weeks after pollination. The sweet chestnut is a diploid species, with 22 chromosomes, and is self-incompatible. The tree reaches 20–35 m tall and 1 m trunk diameter when mature, on average. Large trees can attain 46 m height and 1.75 m diameter.
Potential Disturbances: The sweet chestnut is susceptible to a large number of diseases, most notably sweet chestnut blight, caused by the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica. The disease was accidentally introduced into the United States on nursery stock in the early 1900s, and has since decimated the American sweet chestnut population.
Growth Timeline
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