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Castanea pumila - (L.)Mill.

Chinquapin

Author	(L.)Mill.	Botanical references	11, 43, 200
Family	Fagaceae	Genus	Castanea
Synonyms	Fagus pumila - L.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Eastern N. America - New Jersey and Pennsylvania to Florida, Missouri and Texas.
Habitat	Dry sandy ridges and rich hillsides where it forms thickets, also in woods and on the borders of swamps[43, 82].
Edibility Rating	4 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	1 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious Shrub growing to 4m at a slow rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Secondary; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade;

Cultivars: (as above except)
'#1' not Secondary;
'#2' not Secondary;
'Jane' not Secondary;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Seed.

Seed - raw or cooked[2, 61, 105]. Sweet with a nice nutty flavour[46, 82, 183], it is very acceptable raw and has a superior flavour to sweet chestnuts (C. sativa)[142, 161, K]. When baked it becomes even sweeter and develops a floury texture, it makes an excellent potato or cereal substitute[K].The seed is quite small, about 2cm thich[270], which is about half the size of C. dentata[183]. It is sold in local markets in America[82]. The seed husks only contain one (rarely two) seed[235]. The seed contains 45% starch and 2.5% protein[213].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antiperiodic; Astringent; Tonic.

The leaves contain tannin and are antiperiodic, astringent and tonic[46, 61, 213]. An infusion of the leaves has been used as an external wash for the feverish condition common to colds[213, 257].

Other Uses

Tannin; Wood.

The bark, leaves, wood and seed husks all contain tannin. Wood - coarse-grained, hard, strong, light, durable, easy to split. It weighs 37lb per cubic foot. Too small for commercial use, but it is occasionally used for fence posts, fuel etc[46, 61, 227, 229].

Cultivation details

Prefers a good well-drained slightly acid loam but succeeds in dry soils[1, 11, 200]. Once established, it is very drought tolerant[1, 11, 200]. Very tolerant of highly acid, infertile dry sands[200]. Averse to calcareous soils but succeeds on harder limestones[11, 200]. This species is an excellent soil-enriching understorey in pine forests[200], growing and fruiting well so long as the canopy of pines is fairly light. Although it is very winter-hardy, this species only really thrives in areas with hot summers[200]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K]. Plants can spread widely by means of underground suckers[11]. Flowers are produced on wood of the current year's growth[229]. Plants are fairly self-sterile[200]. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus[200]. Fruits are produced in 2 - 3 years from seed[117]. One report says that plants never fruit in Britain[11], but a 2 metre tall plant at Wisley fruits most years[K]. Trees on our Cornish trial grounds produced a few female flowers when 1 metre tall and 4 years old[K]. This species is occasionally cultivated for its edible seed in N. America, there are some named varieties[183]. The plants produce seeds abundantly in the wild[183]. The sub-species C. pumila ashei. Sudw. (Zone 7) is a coastal form, found from Virginia to Texas[200]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - where possible sow the seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame or in a seed bed outdoors[78]. The seed must be protected from mice and squirrels. The seed has a short viability and must not be allowed to become dry. It can be stored in a cool place, such as the salad compartment of a fridge, for a few months if it is kept moist, but check regularly for signs of germination. The seed should germinate in late winter or early spring. If sown in an outdoor seedbed, the plants can be left in situ for 1 - 2 years before planting them out in their permanent positions. If grown in pots, the plants can be put out into their permanent positions in the summer or autumn, making sure to give them some protection from the cold in their first winter[K]. Division of suckers in winter[200]. They can be planted straight out into their permanent positions.

Cultivars

'#1'

Bears abundant crops of sweet, medium-size nuts[183].

'#2'

Bears abundant crops of sweet, medium-size nuts[183].

'Jane'

A very vigorous plant, maturing at an early age[183]. The nuts ripen at the end of August in America, bearing 1 - 3 nuts per bur[183].

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Staple seed crops from perennials..

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[117] Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984 ISBN 0802707699
A very readable and comprehensive guide. Well illustrated.

[142] Brouk. B. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press 1975 ISBN 0-12-136450-x
Readable but not very comprehensive.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. 0
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[270] Flora of N. America 0
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

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