214 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 



Genus CASTANEA. 



Trees or shrubs with watery juice and serrate straight 

 veined leaves. Flowers monoecious, strong 1 smelling, in 

 axillary catkins near the ends of the branches, appearing 

 after the leaves. The staminate flowers in erect or spreading 

 yellowish cylindrical catkins; calyx mostly 6-parted; stamens 

 numerous, sometimes with abortive ovary; filaments slender. 

 The fertile flowers usually 2 to 5 in an ovoid scaly prickly in- 

 volucre "at the base of the androgynous catkins; calyx with a 

 6-lobed border crowning the mostly 6-celled ovary and usual- 

 ly with4to 12 abortive stamens; ovules 2 in each cavity butonly 

 one to each ovary usually maturing; styles corresponding in 

 number with the cavities in the ovary, slender, exserted; stig- 

 mas small. Involucre of fertile flowers enlarging and becom- 

 ing globose, mostly 4-valved; in fruit a thick, very prickly 

 bur enclosing from 1 to 3 ovoid nuts. Cotyledons very thick, 

 cohering and remaining underground in germination. 

 Castanea dentata. Chestnut. 



.Leaves oblong lanceolate, pointed, acute at base, serrate 

 with coarse pointed teeth; when mature smooth and green on 

 both sides. Fruit sweet and edible, ripening in autumn. A 

 large forest tree with gray bark. 



Distribution. Maine and Ontario to Michigan and Ten- 

 nessee. 



Propagation. Most commonly by seed which should be 

 sown in autumn or stratified over winter and sown in the 

 spring. The seed is very difficult to preserve in good con- 

 dition for germination unless carefully stratified out of doors. 

 When dried it soon loses its vitality and when stratified in 

 the cellar is very liable to mould. The foreign sorts of which 

 there are a number in cultivation are mostly propagated by 

 grafting on the species. 



Properties of wood. Light, soft, not strong, coarse grained, 

 liable to check and warp in drying, easily split, very durable 

 in contact with the soil, reddish brown with thin light colored 

 sapwood. Specific gravity 0.4504; weight of a cubic foot 

 28.07 pounds. 



Uses. Within and near its range the Chestnut is an im- 

 portant and very fast growing timber tree that readily re- 



