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• Castanea pumila

Castanea pumila — dwarf chestnut

Facts

Dwarf chestnut is not as small as it sounds; this tall shrub/small tree can reach 30 feet (10 m) at maturity. The nuts of this species are edible to humans, and much sought-after by other wildlife including squirrels and deer. The leaves are also food for the Orange-tipped oakworm moth (Anisota senatoria). The yellow flowers, blooming in April to June, are fragrant.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges

Characteristics

• Buds or leaf scars

  Bud scale number

  there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed

  Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)

  NA

  Collateral buds

  there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches

  Leaf scar arrangement

  there is one leaf scar per node on the stem or twig

  Pseudoterminal bud

  the tips of the branches have pseudoterminal buds

  Superposed buds

  there are no superposed buds on the branch

  Terminal bud

  there is no terminal bud on the branch

  Winter bud distribution

  the winter buds are distributed fairly evenly along the twig

  Winter bud scales

  the winter bud is perulate (partially or completely covered with one or more scales)

  Winter bud stalks

  the winter buds have no stalks

• Flowers

  Anther color

  the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused to one another

  Enlarged sterile flowers

  there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant

  Flower petal color

  NA

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)

  NA

  Hypanthium present

  the flower does not have a hypanthium

  Inflorescence position

  the inflorescences grow on the twigs

  Inflorescence type

  • the flowers grow out of the axil (point where a branch or leaf is attached to the main stem)
  • the inflorescence is an ament (catkin; slender, usually pendulous inflorescence with crowded unisexual flowers)

  Number of pistils

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes only one cycle of petals or sepals

  Petal appearance

  NA

  Petal fusion

  NA

  Sepal cilia (Ilex)

  NA

  Sepal tip glands

  there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Stamen number

  • 12
  • 13 or more

  Stamen position relative to petals

  the stamens are lined up with the sepals (antesepalous)

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not fused to one another

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Fruit tissue origin

  there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a nut (dry and indehiscent, with a hard wall, usually containing only one seed and usually subtended by an involucre)

  Nut with spines (Fagaceae)

  the involucre has spines

  Wings on fruit

  there are no wings on the fruit

• Glands or sap

  Sap color

  the sap is clear and watery

  Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)

  NA

• Growth form

  Growth form

  • the plant is a shrub (a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
  • the plant is a tree

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf has hairs on it

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade base symmetry

  the leaf blade base is symmetrical

  Leaf blade bloom

  there is a noticeable powdery or waxy bloom on the underside of the leaf

  Leaf blade edges

  the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade edges (Acer)

  NA

  Leaf blade flatness

  the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges

  Leaf blade hairs

  the leaf blade has tangled or woolly-looking hairs, without glands

  Leaf blade length

  70–150 mm

  Leaf blade scales

  there are no scales on the leaf blades

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
  • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)

  Leaf blade texture

  • the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture)
  • the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)

  Leaf blade translucent dots

  there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade

  Leaf blade vein pattern

  the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and non-arcuate (not arched towards the leaf tip)

  Leaf blade veins

  the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip

  Leaf blade width

  25–50 mm

  Leaf duration

  the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)

  Leaf form

  the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)

  Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)

  NA

  Leaf midrib glands

  the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have leaf stalks

  Leaf stalk attachment to leaf

  the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade

  Leaf stalk nectaries

  there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk

  Leaf stalk shape

  the leaf stalk is not flattened

  Leaf teeth

  the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth

  Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)

  NA

  Leaf type

  the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Leaves per node

  there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Specific leaf type

  the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Stipules

  • the plant has stipules
  • there are no stipules on the plant, or they fall off as the leaf expands

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  • edges of forests
  • man-made or disturbed habitats

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Aerial roots

  the plant has no aerial roots

  Bark texture

  • the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
  • the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth

  Branch brittleness (willows only)

  NA

  Branch cross-section

  the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles

  First-year cane (Rubus)

  NA

  Lenticels on twigs

  there are clearly lenticels on the twigs

  Pith shape

  the ouline of the pith in a twig is roughly star-shaped, with several points or arms radiating from the center

  Short shoots

  there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present

  Twig bloom

  there is no bloom on the twig

  Twig hairs

  • the twigs have few or no hairs on them
  • the twigs have hairs, but the hairs do not have glands

  Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)

  NA

  Twig scales

  there are no scales on the twig surface

  Twig winter color

  • brown
  • orange
  • red

  Wings on branch

  the branch does not have wings on it

  armature on plant

  the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae