Castanea

Castanea is the genus of the chestnuts and chinkapins, in the beech family, Fagaceae.

Castanea species are trees and shrubs with simple, ovate or lanceolate leaves with sharply-pointed, widely-spaced teeth, with rounded sinuses between. The fruit is a paired nut enclosed within a spiny husk. The flowers are catkins.

Chestnuts are popular for their nuts. At one time, the almost-extinct American chestnut was an important economic resource not only for the nuts which were sold across North America, even by streetside vendors, but also for timber and tannin.

Species of Castanea in eastern North America are:

• Castanea dentata -- American chestnut
• Castanea pumila -- chinkapin

Horticultural species of Castanea include:

• Castanea sativa -- European chestnut (or Spanish chestnut)
• Castanea mollissima -- Chinese chestnut