Castanea mollissima Blume - syn.Castanea bungeana Blume; Castanea formosana (Hayata) Hayata - Fagaceae \\
Chinese chestnut, **Chinesische (Ess-) Kastanie**

Deciduous tree, up to 20m tall, native to Korea, China, Taiwan and Vietnam; leaves elliptic-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, coarsely serrate; flowers fragrant, male inflorescences 10-20 cm, female flowers at the base of the catkin; nuts usually 2 or 3 per cupule, 2-3 cm in diam. "Extensively cultivated for its edible nuts. Most collections are impossible to determine if they are cultivated, escaped, or native." \\
[[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006226]]

"The scientific name mollissima derives from the softly downy shoots and young leaves... cultivated in East Asia for millennia... evolved over a long period of time in coexistence with the bark fungal disease chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica, formerly Endothia parasitica), and have evolved a very successful resistance to the blight, probably more so than any other species of chestnut, so that, although it is not immune, it typically sustains no more than minor damage when infected... The nuts are edible, and the tree is widely cultivated in eastern Asia; over 300 cultivars have been selected for nut production." \\
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castanea_mollissima]]

{{http://bugwoodcloud.org/images/768x512/1224226.jpg?500}} \\
copyright: [[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/|CC]][[http://forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1224226]]