Castanea crenata is a small to medium deciduous tree from Japan and Korea, grown mainly for its large sweet edible nuts. It is a tree for open ground rather than a houseplant, and it is valued for its resistance to chestnut blight and ink disease.
Family
Fagaceae (Beech & oak family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water regularly while young and during dry spells; established trees need moderate watering.
Soil
Deep, well-drained, slightly acidic loam.
Temperature
Hardy in cool temperate climates; protect young trees from severe frost.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Korea, Japan
Climate
temperate
About
Castanea crenata, the Japanese chestnut or Korean chestnut, is a species of chestnut native to Japan and Korea. Castanea crenata exhibits resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi, the fungal pathogen that causes ink disease in several Castanea species. The mechanism of resistance of Castanea crenata to Phytophthora cinnamomi may derive from its expression of the Cast_Gnk2-like gene.
How to grow it
Castanea crenata is an important tree in Japan and Korea for its heavy production of sweet, edible nuts. A number of cultivars have been selected for large nut size. It is also widely cultivated in eastern China and Taiwan.
It is resistant to chestnut blight and to ink disease, and for these reasons is of importance in North America in the development of disease-resistant hybrids and genetic engineering of the American chestnut, which is susceptible to both fungal pathogens.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Castanea crenata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.