Allegheny Chinquapin (Castanea pumila)

The Allegheny Chinquapin is one of 6 tree seedlings which will be offered in the 2013 Tree Sale held by the Guernsey Soil & Water Conservation District.  Other seedlings include white pine, American chestnut, English oak, Shellbark hickory, and Osage Orange. New this year are fruit trees; both peach and apple. The district will also offer 2 varieties of blueberry, and an America cranberry.  For more information and to receive an order blank, please call 740-432-5624.

Also known as the dwarf chestnut, it is a spreading shrub or small tree, reaching 15-20 feet tall at maturity. The bark is red- or gray-brown and slightly furrowed into scaly plates. Allegheny chinquapin is a lovely tree in late May and early June when the 2 to 6 inch, fragrant male catkins stand erect like white candles, followed by the spiny burs of the female flowers that ripen in the winter. The fruit is a golden-colored, 1.5 in diameter with many sharp spines, maturing in autumn. Each friut contains one ovoid shiny dark brown nut that is edible.  Chinquapin nuts are very sweet and were preferred over chestnuts by those fortunate enough to sample both.

Planting Requirements:  The Allegheny chinkapin is closely related to the American Chestnut, and both trees can be found in the same habitat. They prefer dry ridges and slopes in full sun, although they tolerate some shade when young.  Allegheny Chinkapin can be distinguished by its smaller nut (half the size of a chestnut) that is not flattened (chestnuts are flattened on one side). The leaves of the Allegheny Chinkapin are smaller than the American Chestnut and have less distinct teeth.

Possible Problems:  Allegheny Chinkapin, however, is less susceptible to the chestnut blight fungus that devastated the American Chestnut in the last century. While the Chinkapin does blight to some degree, it continues to send out suckers that will produce fruit.