2. Castanea mollissima Blume (Chinese chestnut)

Map 1836

Plants trees to 20 m tall. Bark light gray, moderately to deeply furrowed. Twigs light gray to dark brown, with sparse longer hairs and rarely also dense minute hairs, usually not glandular. Buds with the outer pair of scales brown or purplish, densely hairy. Leaves with the petiole 5–20 mm long, moderately pubescent with long spreading hairs, sometimes also with dense shorter hairs, these sometimes all or partially gland-tipped. Stipules ovate, shed tardily. Leaf blades 12–19 cm long, 5.5–8.0 cm wide, oblong to narrowly obovate or rarely elliptic, broadly rounded to shallowly cordate at the base, abruptly short-tapered at the tip, the marginal teeth 1–2(–4) mm long, slenderly tapered, straight or curved, the secondary veins 14–19 on each side of the midvein, both surfaces with the midvein moderately pubescent with long spreading hairs, sometimes also with dense shorter hairs, these sometimes all or partially gland-tipped, the undersurface sometimes also with the tissue between the veins hairy. Cupules 1 or 2 per spike, 2.5–4.0 cm wide at fruiting (excluding the spines), splitting into 4 valves, the spines 14–19 mm long. Nuts 2 or 3 per cupule, 16–25 mm long, flattened on 1 or 2 sides. 2n=24. June–July.

Introduced, known thus far only from Christian and Ozark Counties (native of eastern Asia; introduced in the eastern U.S. west to Illinois, Missouri, and Mississippi). Mesic upland forests, usually near streams and rivers.

Castanea mollissima is not cultivated widely in Missouri. It was first reported as an escape by Padgett and Parker (1998). A second Asian species, C. crenata Siebold & Zucc. (Japanese chestnut), also is sometimes cultivated, but is not known to escape in Missouri. Castanea crenata is a shrub or small tree, rarely over 10 m tall, with small glandular scales visible under high magnification on the stems, petioles, and the undersurface of the leaf blades.