Sweet Chestnut
The golden cascade tumbling over the suburban wall is such a spectacular sight, I am surprised so little is made of it. Now if the Sweet chestnut flowered in March rather than at the beginning of July I am sure more would be planted. Perhaps it as just as well the splendid show does not trigger a fashion trend. Sweet chestnuts live long and grow to a huge size, rivalling the mighty oak, so are quite out of proportion in the average garden space.
What is especially remarkable is the rapid development of the seeds, the tasty chestnuts we know. Picked from the floor of local woods by the bagful at the end of September by whole families on a weekend outing, their development is rapid in the extreme.
The flowers, which make the tree such a splendid sight, are very long catkins. This year I measured some over eleven inches long. Both male and female elements grow on the same catkin. The male elements are spread along most of its length and shed the yellow pollen which gives the tree such transient colour. Two female flowers nestle close to the attachment point on the twig. By the end of July, these have been pollinated and have already begun to develop, in miniature, the green, spiky seed cases familiar to chestnut gatherers later in the year.
If the flowers are judged to be on some exotic plant, there is some justification in that belief. The ever-practical Romans brought the tree, whether by accident or design, from more southern shores. Chestnuts ground into a coarse flour were part of the regular diet of their armies.
Previous Nature @ NASAM By Rex
Author:: Rex Hancy
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