Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Chestnut

CHESTNUT, a genus of plants, order Cupuliferæ, allied to the beech. The common or Spanish chestnut (Castānea vesca) is a stately tree, with large, handsome, serrated, dark-green leaves. The fruit consists of two or more seeds enveloped in a prickly husk. Probably a native of Asia Minor, it has long been naturalized in Europe, and was perhaps introduced into Great Britain by the Romans. The tree grows freely in Great Britain, and may reach the age of many centuries. Its fruit ripens only in some cases, however, and the chestnuts eaten in Great Britain are mostly imported. Chestnuts form a staple article of food among the peasants of Spain and Italy. The timber of the tree was formerly more in use than it is now; it is inferior to that of the oak, though very similar to it in appearance, especially when old. Two American species of chestnuts, C. americāna and C. pumĭla (the latter a shrub), have edible fruits. The former is often regarded as identical with the European tree. The name of Cape Chestnut is given to a beautiful tree of the rue family, a native of Cape Colony. The Moreton Bay Chestnut is a leguminous tree of Australia, Castanospermum austrāle, with fruits resembling those of the chestnut. The water-chestnut is the water-caltrop, Trapa natans. The horse-chestnut is quite a different tree from the common chestnut.