Help identify mid Mo chestnut

[Jordan Selsor]

So my concrete guy said he had 3 big chestnut trees in his yard that are always loaded. He doesn't do anything with them. Sent me some pics and I'm curious if anyone can identify. This is the largest at 25ft tall 30ft wide he says. Other two are as tall but not as wide. Nuts are much smaller than my dunstans

 

[Jordan Selsor]

And one of the others. Says hauls on this one are not splitting yet like the larger one pictured above.
Says I can have as many as I want for eating or planting. What's best way to cook these damn things? He asked "how the hell I get them out their shells? Their tearing my hands up...". LOL

 

[Bc4abc]

Looks Chinese

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[Jordan Selsor]

Looks Chinese

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I thought Chinese produced larger nuts?

 

[John B]

http://www.acf.org/Tree_ID/chinamerover_02.php

Its hard to judge from pics but this might help if you were thinking its American because of the small nuts.

 

[Bc4abc]

I'm pretty certain this is a big Chinese, however the size of the tree and the size of the nut is suspect ......Leaves and stems def look Chinese to me. If not a pure Chinese, it likely a hybrid American/Chinese. But if i were a betting man i put money on Pure Chinese.

 

[Knehrke]

I have two trees on a friends property that are nearly identical except that they're even larger than the biggest in your pictures. The trees grow next to one another. One produces large Chestnuts and the other one produces small chestnuts. Both are hybrids, and I assume that they pollinate each other.

 

[Native Hunter]

Everything about it looks Chinese to me. Some produce very small nuts and others are much larger. The drop times can vary in Chinese as well. That is very evident in my own Chinese trees, and the AU package trees that are sold are nothing more than selections from wild Chinese based on drop time.

The only thing that looks strange is the size of some the burs in that close up pic - some of them look very small. Those could be unpollinated burs or burs with only one nut rather than the typical three nuts. That happens a lot too.

 

[THunter]

Chinese

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Thanks all
This tree is a dandy whatever it is. Wish it was at the farm... some day :)

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Close up of the leaf

 

[Native Hunter]

Jordan, I picked up some chestnuts from two different trees - both Chinese. Note the difference in the nuts. The ones on the left are from a tree at the edge of my yard and the ones on the right are from a tree in my wildlife planting at the farm. Lots of difference in both size and color.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Thanks NH!
Do your Chinese chestnuts have a wide variety of drop times as well? I have a chestnut hill dunstan with approx 50 pods on it none of which are starting to split or turn brown. I don't guess it will drop till mid to late October. Of my other chestnuts only a handful have a few pods here an there so I guess time will tell On their drop times

 

[Native Hunter]

Thanks NH!
Do your Chinese chestnuts have a wide variety of drop times as well? I have a chestnut hill dunstan with approx 50 pods on it none of which are starting to split or turn brown. I don't guess it will drop till mid to late October. Of my other chestnuts only a handful have a few pods here an there so I guess time will tell On their drop times

Yes, they do have a wider window for dropping than most people realize. And Auburn University has one Chinese chestnut (AU Buck IV) that is supposed to drop on in to November. These trees are grafted and sold through the Wildlife Group.