Castanea (genus)

Chestnut
Sweet chestnut Castanea sativa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Fagaceae
Genus:	Castanea Mill.
Species
Castanea alnifolia* – bush chinkapin Castanea crenata – Japanese/Korean chestnut Castanea dentata – American chestnut Castanea henryi – Henry's chestnut Castanea mollissima – Chinese chestnut Castanea ozarkensis – Ozark chinkapin Castanea pumila – Allegheny chinkapin Castanea sativa – Sweet chestnut Castanea seguinii – Seguin's chestnut * treated as a synonym of Castanea pumila by many authors

* treated as a synonym of Castanea pumila by many authors

The chestnut group is a genus (Castanea) of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.

Chestnuts belong to the family Fagaceae, which also includes oaks and beeches. The four main species are commonly known as European, Chinese, Japanese, and American chestnuts, some species called chinkapin or chinquapin:

Chestnuts should not be confused with horse chestnuts (genus Aesculus), which are not related to Castanea and are named for producing nuts of similar appearance, but which are mildly poisonous to humans, nor should they be confused with water chestnut (family Cyperaceae), which are also unrelated to Castanea and are tubers of similar taste from an aquatic herbaceous plant. Other trees commonly mistaken for chestnut trees are the chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) and the American beech (Fagus grandifolia), both of which are also in Fagaceae.

The name "chestnut" is derived from an earlier English term "chesten nut", which descends from the Old French word chastain (Modern French, châtaigne).

The name Castanea is probably derived from the old name for the sweet chestnut, either in Latin or in Ancient Greek. Another possible source of the name is the town of Kastania in Thessaly, Greece; more probable, though, is that the town took its name from the most common tree growing around it. In the Mediterranean climate zone, chestnut trees are rarer in Greece because the chalky soil is not conducive to the tree's growth. Kastania is located on one of the relatively few sedimentary or siliceous outcrops. They grow so abundantly there, their presence would have determined the place's name. Still others take the name as coming from the Greek name of Sardis glans (Sardis acorn) – Sardis being the capital of Lydia, Asia Minor, from where the fruit had spread.