1. chestnuts
One of the earliest fruit tree varieties cultivated in China has a cultivation history of 2000 ~ 3000 years. Chestnut leaves are lanceolate or rectangular with serrated edges. Flowers are unisexual, monoecious, and the male flowers are catkins; When ripe, the involucre splits and the nuts fall off. Nuts are purple-brown, brown, or nearly smooth, and the flesh is milky white to light yellow, which is easy to peel; The edible part of nuts is hypertrophy cotyledons, which contain sugar, starch, protein, fat and various vitamins and minerals. The root system is developed with mycorrhiza. Drought-resistant and barren, suitable for mountain cultivation and acidic soil. Wood is dense, hard and moisture-proof; Branches, barks and involucres contain tannins, and tannin extracts can be extracted. Chestnut varieties in China can be roughly divided into two categories: northern chestnut and southern chestnut. Chestnut nuts in northern China are small, with waxy pulp and high sugar content, which is easy to peel and suitable for frying. Southern chestnut nuts are big, the flesh is japonica, with high water content and low sugar content, which is suitable for vegetable use. There are wild chestnuts in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Qinling Mountains, which are small trees with a height of 2-5 meters, and the small nuts are only 1-2 grams. Because their personalities are similar to those of Li Mao, they are often confused.
2. Castanea henryi
Commonly known as hazelnut, deciduous tree, the tree body is tall and the trunk is straight, which is mostly used for afforestation from the Yangtze River basin to the north of Nanling. Leaves alternate, ovate-lanceolate, 8 ~ 17 cm long and 2 ~ 5 cm wide, with long and tapering tips, wedge-shaped to nearly round at the base, and serrated leaves with awning tops. Male flowers and female flowers are usually arranged in different orders. Male inflorescences are born in the lower leaf axils of branchlets, and female inflorescences are born in the upper leaf axils of branchlets. The involucre is spherical and spiny with a diameter of 2 ~ 3.5 cm; There are only 1 nut in the involucre, which is oval and pointed at the top. The seed contains starch, sugar and protein, which is sweet. Both raw and cooked food have good flavor. Solid material, waterproof and moisture-proof, can be used as sleepers, furniture, shipbuilding and so on. This species is wild and cultivated in Lanxi, Zhejiang, Jian 'ou, Zhenghe, Fujian and other places.
3. Li Mao
Small deciduous trees or shrubs, 3 ~ 5 meters high. Branchlets are gray with short hairs. Leaf blade oblong or elliptic obovate, with scaly glandular hairs on back. The male inflorescence is erect and inserted at the base of the bisexual inflorescence at the upper part of the new shoot; 3 male flowers, clustered in involucre; There is a habit of continuous flowering, 2 ~ 3 times a year. Involucre nearly elliptic, usually containing 3 nuts; Nuts are small, brown and fluffy, weighing about 1 g, and are not commercialized. Wood is hard and durable, and can be used to make farm tools and furniture.
4. Japanese chestnut
Originally from Japan. Small trees, occasionally big trees. The leaf blade is lanceolate or oblong, the leaf margin is serrated, the apex is pointed, and the back of the leaf blade is almost lint-free. Well-developed annual branches are orange-red, with as few fine hairs as smooth and hairless. The involucre is large, the bracts are slender, and the nuts are pointed; Nuts are generally large, with large bases, and the astringent peel and pulp are not easy to separate; The skin is reddish brown, not as black as chestnuts; Fried food is of poor quality and is mainly used for processing. There is a small amount of economic cultivation in Fengcheng, Liaoning, Kuandian and Rizhao, Shandong.