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Spanish chestnut
(Castanea sativa Mill.)
Spanish chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.)
Cast á n
Distrib ution & Prove nance
Spanish or Sw ee t chestn ut i s a Eu rop ea n spe cies na tive to the
Mediterrane an re gi on but w ith a rang e ex ten ding e as twards a s
far as northe rn I ra n. In Ir el and, the p re f erred seed sou rces f o r
Spanish chestnut planting are French seed orchards. It is
necessary to distinguish material for planting from edible
nuts. The species was first introduced into Britain by the
Romans.
It is not known when the species was first
introduce d int o Ire land.
Silvi cult ure & M an agement in Ir ela n d
Spanish chestnut requires a deep, free draining,
moderately fertile and acid soil (pH 4.0 – 4.5). It is
intolerant of frost and exposure and should be grown
where summer conditions are consistently warm and
pre fe rably sunny. Spanish che stn ut is a f a irly st ro ng lig ht
de mander and r equi r es r egular th in nin g to r et ain cro wn
v igour and to avoid compe titio n betwee n n eig h bour in g
crowns.
Normal rotations of Spanish chestnut are
bet we en 50 and 70 y ea rs, at which stag e th e final cro p
shoul d consi st o f approx im ately 1 50 ste ms p er he cta re.
The speci es is lo ng lived b ut o lder tim ber is con sid ere d
t o be of low e r va lue as it is su bject to spiral g ra in an d
shake .
In England, Spanish chestnut is the most important
comme rcial ly manage d coppice sp e cie s. Co ppicin g is
the practi ce of cutting back a s tem to th e stum p an d
man agi ng t he multi stemm ed re g row th th at occurs as a
ti mbe r crop. This p rac tice can be ca rried o u t a g a in an d
again without resorting to replanting.
Ty p i c a l l y,
Spani sh c hestnu t cop pic e rota tio ns are m an a ged ove r a
pe riod of bet w een 12 and 16 year s.
Spanish ch es tn ut is su bje ct to dam a ge fro m a ro ot ro t
fun gus known as In k Dise as e (Phytop h thora cinna m om i).
Thi s i s m ore preva lent on we tt er s oils, caus ing che st nut
roots to rot and turn an inky colour while stems and
coppice stools may d ie. Fros t d am a ge will ca use fo rk in g
and Spanish chestnut is susceptible to browsing from
dee r, hares, rabb its an d domest ic st o ck.
Natural distribution of
Spanish chestnut
Mature, free standing
Spanish chestnut
Non Timber Ben efi ts
Span ish c hest nut p roduces the fam ilia r ch estn ut s ro aste d
at Chris tm as and used in a stuff in g f or po ult r y. Ho wev er,
t he I ri sh cli mat e rar el y pe rmits t he swe lling o f th ese nut s
a nd mo st of the ches tnut s used in Ireland are impo rted f rom
France and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region. Small
n uts do deve lop in I re lan d and thes e are a so urce of f ood f o r
many wild animals. Spanish chestnuts are popular as free
standing trees in large gardens and in a parkland context
where t hey e xh ibit magni ficent autumnal colouring .
Spanish chestnut
sprig showing chestnuts
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Positio n in Iri sh Fore str y
Span ish che stnut i s not a c ommo nly plante d species in Ir ish forest r y
an d it s occu rre nc e i s confine d to small blocks in o ld estat es or new
bro adleav ed pl antatio ns . Co illte , th e Irish F orest r y Bo a rd , current ly
manage l ess tha n 100 h ectare s of Spanish ch estnu t. Howev er, Ir ish
nurserie s produc e and sell o ver 20,000 Spa nish chestnut p lant s
an n uall y and these are p urch ased primarily by the privat e sector.
Spanish chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.)
Castá n
Uses & Mark ets
Spani sh che stnu t timber bear s a close resem b la n ce to oa k in
bot h t ext ure and col our. It is o fte n us ed a s a n alt ern at iv e to
o ak for cons tructi on purposes. It is an easily wo rke d timb e r
and fini she s ex ce lle n tl y with m ost ha n d a nd m achin e t o ols.
Spanish chestnut is therefore widely sought after by
furn iture make rs and by woo d tu rne rs. It is an e xt rem ely
durable timber an d for this reaso n h a s be e n t ra dition a lly
used for fencing posts, rails, gates and coffin boards.
Span ish che stnut t imb er from o ld er st ems is o f te n sub ject
to shake and spiral grain. Coppiced chestnut is also
use d for fenci ng and othe r loc al u ses su ch a s wa lk in g
sti cks, barrel hoops an d h o p po les. In En glan d, ch est nut
i s current ly the most im po rtant c om mercia l cop pice crop.
Coppicing of
Spanish chestnut is
practiced throughout
most of Europe
Furt her Info rmati on
Furth er in formation on growing Spa n ish ch est nu t can be
obt ained from y our local For est Se r vice In sp ec to r or a ny
Professi onal Fo res te r.
Spanish chestnut is traditionally
used in split rail fencing