Castanea sativa / Castagno comune

Origin: Southern Europe, Middle East, North Africa.

Botanical characteristics: It is a large tree, more than 30 mt high, with a short trunk and a quite large columnar crown. With the passing of time its bark gets split longitudinally in large plaques.
Leaves are elliptic-lanceolate or oblong, serrated, bright green, yellow in autumn. It has unisexual flowers on the same plant (monoecious). Ornamental inflorescence bloom in July. They are 15-25 cm long catkins, yellow and fragrant. Spiny cupules contains 1-3 chestnuts that are shed during October.

Agronomic and environmental characteristics: It is very common in Italy. It was spread in the age of Romans after it had disappeared during the last glaciation. It is one of the most important component of forest on the hills, between 200 and 800 m high, usually on acidic soils.

Use: It is used for fruit and timber. As ornamental tree it is primarily used as a single plant. It is also used for reforestation.