Castanea Pumila seed

LATIN NAME: CASTANEA PUMILA

COMMON NAME: Chinquapin

The chinquapin burrs the small, spiny husks around the sweet, single nuts, the narrow, toothed leaves along the slender branches, and the whole bush carrying the neat, hardy look of the small chestnuts. The husks split open in the autumn to show the glossy, dark nuts, the foliage turns to the clear golds, and the plant grows into the round, suckering thicket of the dry woodland. The nuts are sweet and rich, the birds and the squirrels take them fast, and the bush holds the soil on the dry slopes. It likes the sun, the sharp drainage, and the sandy, acid soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The chinquapins have carried a practical weight in the American chestnut breeding since the blight took the big trees, and the species appears in the studies of the chestnut family and the blight resistance. The researchers cover the nut quality, the germination and the way the bush shrugs off the disease that the forest chestnuts could not, while the breeders use the chinquapins in the crosses for the hardy, resistant lines. The foresters value the nut-bearing habit, and the growers of the small nut crops keep the species in their lists.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

For the dry garden, the chinquapin is the modest bush with the sweet reward. The nuts have been gathered and eaten for the ages, feeding the squirrels, the turkeys and the people alike, and the bush gives the neat, hardy presence with the autumn crop. The hard wood serves the fence posts and the small, tough uses, and the bush holds the soil on the dry, sandy slopes. It gives the sweetness without the fuss.

The chinquapin seeds start well in a gritty, sandy soil kept moist in the bright, cool place. The plump nuts rise on the sturdy stems, and they grow on steadily through the warm months. Keep them in the deep pots until the roots fill, then plant them out into the sunny site with the sharp-draining, acid ground. They dislike the wet feet, so give them the dry, open slope. The spiny husks and the sweet nuts come within the few years.

To grow the chinquapin from seed, sow the plump, brown seeds singly into the deep flat of gritty, sandy soil, then cover them well, keep the flat in the bright, cool spot and water gently. The seedlings rise within a few weeks, and they grow on steadily. Settle the young bushes into the sharp-draining, sunny ground, and the spiny husks will open over the years.