{"slug":"castanea-sativa","scientific_name":"Castanea sativa","common_names":["Sweet chestnut","Spanish chestnut","European chestnut"],"family":"Fagaceae","type":"broadleaf_deciduous","mature_height_m":30,"mature_spread_m":20,"growth_rate":"medium","lifespan_years":700,"hardiness_zones":[5,7],"sun":"full","water":"medium","soil":"Deep, light, acidic to neutral free-draining soils; intolerant of lime and waterlogging","native_range":"Native to the Balkans, Greece, Türkiye, the Caucasus, Lebanon-Syria and northern Iran; introduced and long naturalised across western Europe including Britain.","description":"A long-lived tree of up to 35 m with spirally fissured bark, long serrated leaves and spiny husks holding edible chestnuts. In southern Europe it is an orchard and coppice tree of enormous cultural importance; in south-east England it has been coppiced for fencing for centuries and is treated as an honorary native though it was introduced, probably by the Romans. Nuts ripen fully only after hot summers.","care":"Plant in winter on acidic, well-drained soil and water through dry first summers; trees take about 30 years to bear well. Coppice on a 10 to 20 year cycle or prune in winter. Sweet chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) and oriental chestnut gall wasp have arrived in the UK; Phytophthora root rot kills trees on heavy wet soils. Squirrels damage young bark.","benefits":["edible","long_lived","wildlife","pollinators","shade","carbon"],"uses":["food","timber","parks","yard_shade","agroforestry"],"cautions":["heavy_litter","pest_prone"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Chestnuts.jpg","image_credit":"Wikimedia Commons, file Chestnuts.jpg (see file page for author and licence)","sources":["https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/sweet-chestnut/","https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Castanea_sativa.PDF","https://www.gbif.org/species/5333294","https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=280759","https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/castanea-sativa/"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/castanea-sativa","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/castanea-sativa.md","regions":[{"country":"GR","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5333294"},{"country":"TR","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5333294"},{"country":"ES","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5333294"},{"country":"FR","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced in antiquity per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5333294"},{"country":"GB","region":"ENG","locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Non-native, long naturalised and coppiced, especially in Kent and Sussex","source_url":"https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/sweet-chestnut/"},{"country":"IE","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5333294"},{"country":"IT","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced in antiquity per WCVP; a major orchard and coppice tree","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5333294"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}