Castanopsis sclerophylla seed

LATIN NAME: CASTANOPSIS SCLEROPHYLLA

COMMON NAME: Bitter Chestnut Oak

In the evergreen woods of the lower Yangtze, the bitter chestnut oak grows as a tall, dense, evergreen tree with the stiff, leathery, sharply toothed leaves, dark green above and brown-felted beneath, and the small, greenish catkins, the round, hard, bitter nuts ripening in the spiny cups in the autumn. It steadily establishes a rounded crown, eventually 5-10 metres tall. Site it in full sun, in deep, fertile ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The bitter chestnut oak comes up in the studies of the evergreen chestnuts of the Yangtze watershed, its leathery leaves and its bitter nuts keeping it in view in the work on the subtropical broadleaf forests and the traditional starch trees of the region. The research looks at the way the spiny cups hold the nuts, the felted leaf undersides ride the seasons, and the seed biology of the short-lived nuts.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the woodland garden, the bitter chestnut oak carries the dense, glossy evergreen crown and drops the hard nuts that the country people have leached and ground into food for generations. The tough timber has served the builders, and the tree makes the fine shade tree, the shelter tree and the tree of the mild, moist garden. It is a tree for the open, sheltered, deep and fertile place.

To grow the Bitter Chestnut Oak from seed, sow the nuts at once, as the seeds quickly lose their life, on leafy soil.

Sow the nuts at once, as the seeds quickly lose their life, on leafy soil, and keep the young trees in the sheltered, shaded spot. The leathery leaves hold through the mild winter.

LATIN NAME: Castanopsis sclerophylla

COMMON NAME: Chinese Tanbark Oak, Chinese Chinkapin

The Chinese tanbark oak is a handsome and hardy evergreen of the southern Chinese forests, and its glossy, thick leaves and its flaky bark make it a valued tree of the woodland and the garden. The species develops an upright, columnar form, around sixty centimetres high. It is a species of the beech family, native to southern China, where in the wild it is typically found growing in the broad-leaved evergreen forests at two hundred to a thousand metres above the sea, and it is a handsome and useful tree of the warm woodlands.

The Chinese tanbark oak belongs to the beech family, Fagaceae, and it is a species of flowering plant native to southern China, where in the wild it is typically found growing in the broad-leaved evergreen forests at two hundred to a thousand metres above the sea. It is known as the Chinese tanbark oak, and it is an evergreen tree prized for its glossy leaves, its flaky bark and its small, sweet nuts.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Chinese tanbark oak has a genuine and growing place in both forestry and ecological research. It has been studied in forestry science, since it is a handsome and useful tree of the warm woodlands, and researchers have examined its growth, its management and its value, while the bark of the tree has long been used for the tanning of the leather, and the tanbark oaks as a whole have been of continuing interest, while the tree is also valued for its nuts and its wood, and its use in the forests and the plantations of the region has been examined. The tree has also been studied in ecology, since it is a native of the broad-leaved evergreen forests, and researchers have examined its growth, its role in the forest community and its value to the wildlife, while the evergreen forests of the region and their trees have been of continuing interest, and the small, sweet nuts of the tree feed the wildlife of the forest. The species has also been studied in horticulture, since it is a handsome and hardy evergreen, and its cultivation has been examined. For a tree of such usefulness, the Chinese tanbark oak has a rich and growing record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, the Chinese tanbark oak is a generous tree of the warm woodlands. Its glossy crown gives shelter, and its small, sweet nuts feed the squirrels, the birds and the small animals, while it is a handsome presence in the broad-leaved evergreen forests of southern China.

Its economic value is real. The bark has long been used for the tanning of the leather, the small, sweet nuts are gathered as a food of the forest, and the wood is useful, while the tree is also a handsome evergreen of the garden, and its use in the forests and the plantations of the region has drawn attention in the international forestry and botanical press. For a grower, the Chinese tanbark oak is a rewarding and hardy tree, and for a gardener in a warm region it brings glossy leaves, flaky bark and a handsome evergreen crown. The seeds are simple — sow the fresh nuts in a pot of moist, free-draining compost in a sunny or lightly shaded spot, keep them lightly watered, and theyll sprout within a few weeks, growing on into a handsome, glossy-leaved tree.