Sweet chestnut seeds / Castanea sativa

Sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut / Castanea sativa

Large or medium-sized deciduous tree 20-35 meters high. The trunk diameter can reach 2 meters. The bark is dark brown, longitudinally fissured. The leaves are lanceolate or oblong, serrated along the edges, 16-28 centimeters long and 5-9 centimeters wide. The flowers are small, collected in earrings. The fruit is a nut weighing 10-20 grams, enclosed in a prickly plus that opens when ripe. Sometimes the plush contains several nuts.

The fruit of the seed chestnut is very nutritious; it should not be confused with horse chestnut seeds. In Corsica it is a staple food. Flour is made from it, it is dried, smoked, various dishes are prepared, and fed to livestock. Chestnuts are high in protein and carbohydrates, but low in fiber. The yield of one adult chestnut tree is on average 100-200 kilograms.

Chestnut produces valuable wood, beautiful, strong, light and durable. It practically does not rot, which is especially appreciated in subtropical climates. The volume of wood suitable for making boards is 4-6 cubic meters from one tree.

Honey bees take a lot of nectar (from female flowers) and pollen (from male flowers) from chestnut flowers, but the honey is liquid, sometimes with a bitter taste, and therefore is valued low. Honey productivity is 500-600 kilograms per hectare of continuous plantings.