Sweet Chestnut Tree
Tree friend
Castanea sativa – sweet chestnut
life span- C. Sativa is a very long lived tree with a typical life expectancy in the range of 200-800 years with some exceptional trees estimated to be as old as 2000-4000 years!
Years till first fruit- popular grafted cultivars may start to produce within 5 years but a tree grown from seed can take 20-30 years to begin producing
Fruiting season- C. Sativa produces during Autumn
Productive lifespan- nut output peaks between 35-50 years
Area of origin- C. sativa originated from the area around turkey and south east europe.
Annual rainfall- average annual rainfall of 1300mm.
Latin name and family- castanea sativa, fagaceae
other products, benefits, useful or interesting facts.
The sweet chestnut trees wood is very high in tannins which lends itself well to be used for outdoor timber products such as furniture and fence posts, the tannins are also useful for tanning leather.
The trees also lend themselves well to coppicing and will produce useful timber every 15-30 years.
Parts of the tree are also used as an astringent, antiinflammatory and antidiarrhoeal.
Height of tree at maturity- 20-35m
width at maturity- trunk 2m diameter – arbour 15m that overhangs
Requirements- C. Sativa requires fairly dry, hot summers to produce the highest quality nuts
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