Castanopsis echinocarpa seed

LATIN NAME: CASTANOPSIS ECHINOCARPA

COMMON NAME: Spiny Chinkapin

The spiny chinkapin armors the evergreen tree with the leathery, oval, toothed leaves and the small, upright catkins that open through the late spring, the round, densely spiny cupules following, each cupule armoring the one or two shiny, pointed nuts. The tree grows steadily into the bold, rounded crown, and it likes the sun, and the deep, moist, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The spiny cupules of the spiny chinkapin give it a recognised place in the research on the warm-climate nut trees of the oak and chestnut family, and the echinocarpa species appears in the studies of the evergreen forest growth and the nut chemistry. The work looks at the way the cupules armor the pointed nuts, the edible kernels, and the seed biology. The ecologists value the shelter and the mast, and the growers of the warm-climate forest and nut trees keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the warm, sheltered garden, the spiny chinkapin armors the warm garden with the spiny cupules. The kernels serve as the forest food for the wildlife and the people for the ages, the tree makes the fine timber and the shelter, and the dense crown gives the shade. It thrives in the deep, moist, well-drained, sunny ground. Evergreen, spiny-cupuled and mast-rich.

To grow the Spiny Chinkapin from seed, sow the fresh seeds into the gritty drills of the open bed in the autumn, then cover them well, keep the drills lightly watered, and the young trees thread up through the spring.

Keep the drills lightly watered, and give the young trees the open, sunny spot. The armor cupules come within a few seasons. Settle the young trees in the deep, moist ground, and the armor cupules will form within a few seasons.