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Fagaceae FAMILY

Castanea mollissima

Castanea mollissima

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
Growth—

Castanea mollissima is a very cold-hardy tree, tolerating temperatures down to around -30°c when dormant. It grows best in areas with hot summers. In areas with cooler summers(even if the winters are mild), such as the maritime regions of the temperate zone, it often grows poorly, failing to properly ripen its fruit or its wood and suffering frost damage over the winter[1, 2]. Prefers a good well-drained slightly acid loam but succeeds in dry soils[3, 1, 2]. Once established, it is very drought tolerant[3, 1, 2]. Very tolerant of highly acid, infertile dry sands[2]. Averse to calcareous soils but succeeds on harder limestones[1, 2]. Tolerant of urban pollution[4]. Somewhat tolerant of salt-laden winds[4]. Extensively cultivated for its edible seed in China, and also much grown in America, there are a number of named varieties[5, 6, 2, 7]. The tree is also coppiced in order to supply wood for fuel11]. Plants can start fruiting in 5 - 7 years from seed[5] and yields from mature trees are around 25 - 60 kilos per tree[8]. Resistant, but not immune, to blight[6], it is used in hybridization programmes with Castanea dentata to try and find blight resistant cultivars with superior seeds[2]. A shallow rooted tree[8], it can be difficult to transplant[4]. Responds well to coppicing[1, 9]. Flowers are produced on wood of the current year's growth[10]. Plants are fairly self-sterile[2]. All the different Castanea species are interfertile and will hybridize freely with other members of this genus[2]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[2]. Frequently cultivated for the production of nuts in most provinces of central China. Since 1916 spreading in the southern states of the USA and planted as shade tree on farms, also grown in Japan. Nuts are eaten roasted, dried or ground, and are used in the production of chocolates and desserts. Important for breeding because of resistance to chestnut blight. More than 300 cultivars have been named in China[11].

Propagation

Seed - where possible sow the seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame or in a seed bed outdoors[12]. 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[PFAF]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Castanea+mollissima>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · 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.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]Southern Trees Fact Sheets — Gilman E.F. · University of Florida, IFAS Extension · http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/department_envhort-trees ↩︎A series of fact sheets on trees that can be grown in Florida. They can be downloaded from the Internet
  5. [5]The Book of Edible Nuts. — Rosengarten. jnr. F. · Walker & Co. · 1984 · ISBN 0802707699 ↩︎A very readable and comprehensive guide. Well illustrated.
  6. [6]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · 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.
  7. [7]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  8. [8]Wonder Crops. 1987. — Natural Food Institute, ↩︎Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
  9. [9]Plantae Wilsonae. Vol 1 - 3 — Wilson. E. H. · University Press; Cambridge. · 1911 - 1917 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Details of the palnts collected by the plant collector E. H. Wilson on his travels in China. Gives some habitats. Not for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  10. [10]The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. — Elias. T. · 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.
  11. [11]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  12. [12]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  13. [13]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎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.
  14. [14]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · 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.
  15. [15]Nuts. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.
  16. [16]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of 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.
  17. [17]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  18. [18]A Barefoot Doctors Manual. — ? · Running Press; Philadelphica. · 1977 · ISBN 0-914294-92-X ↩︎A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
  19. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎