Appearance

Appearance

A deciduous tree about 33–50 ft (10–15 m) tall.

Leaves

Leaves are about 3–7.5 in (8–19 cm) long and 1.2–2 in (3–5 cm) wide, similar to European chestnut (Castanea sativa) leaves but smaller.

Flowers

In summer it bears upright flower spikes. Male flowers crowd the upper part, with small female flowers near the base. The flowers have a strong smell.

Fruit

Each spiny husk usually holds up to three nuts that ripen in fall.

Look-alikes

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• orchards
• gardens
• botanical collections

Range

Native to Japan and Korea. In the US it has been planted in orchards and botanical collections since the late 1800s.

Growing it

Care

Grown for its heavy crops of sweet nuts. Growers have selected many cultivars with large nuts, and European × Japanese chestnut hybrids such as 'Colossal' have also been developed.

Connected species

Parasites

• Asian Chestnut Gall WaspDryocosmus kuriphilus

  Its larvae grow in galls on chestnut buds and leaves.

Name and classification

About the name

Also called Korean chestnut in English. It is a different species from Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima).

Conservation

IUCN Red List

LCLeast Concern·Low risk of extinction

Threats

Japanese chestnut has some resistance to chestnut blight, a fungal disease that devastated American chestnut in the eastern US.

Culture and stories

Culture and stories

• Japanese chestnut trees were being imported to New York by 1876.
• After chestnut blight was discovered in New York City in 1904, researchers began crossing resistant Asian chestnuts with American chestnut.