Chestnuts

We have a special relationship with chestnut trees. We often find these broad-spreading trees on farms, along roadsides, in beer gardens and in large squares. They provide shade, and under them people can sit, eat, drink and enjoy life.

As the nights grow longer in autumn, the leaves on chestnut trees turn yellowish and brown. Soon the ground is covered with leaves and brown seeds, some still enclosed in their spiky shells.

We also call these seeds chestnuts. Each one has a large, whitish spot. The rest of the brown skin is shiny. Many seeds are eaten by animals, others rot, and a few are covered by soil. They can grow into new trees. The chestnut leaves decay and turn into humus.

All around us, bare trees are dormant for the winter. Snow and frost cannot harm them during the cold months. Chestnut trees also come through the winter just fine. But buds are already forming at the ends of their branches. They are very large and have a sticky sheen. When the weather gets warmer again, the buds burst open and green leaves emerge. Five to seven leaves grow on each stem, which can be up to 20 cm long. The leaves can also grow up to 20 cm long and 10 cm wide. They have pointed tips and small teeth along their edges. Their edges are doubly serrated. When a chestnut tree is 15–20 years old, it produces flowers and fruit every year. It flowers in April or May. The flowers are white, sometimes with pink spots. They grow upright and reach about 30 cm in size. A cluster of flowers like this is also called a candle. The flowers have several stamens that contain pollen. At first, you can see a yellow spot. As the flowers get older, the spot turns red. They wither after two weeks.

As new leaves and blossoms appear on the old trees, young chestnut trees are growing nearby. They have sprung from seeds that fell from the tree in the autumn of the previous year.

When they are covered with leaves and soil, shoots and small roots sprout from them in spring. The shoots grow upward, while the roots grip firmly into the soil. The shoots grow into young trees, and the roots supply them with water and nutrients. Once a shoot has pushed through the ground, the parent chestnut tree dies. The bark of a young chestnut tree is brownish and smooth. It turns gray as moss grows on the trees. Later, the trunk sometimes becomes a little reddish. The bark then forms coarse, cracked plates that bend slightly outward.

Most of our chestnut trees are horse chestnuts. They got their name because their seeds were once used to treat diseases in horses.

Another word for horse is “ross”, which is where the name “horse chestnut” comes from. Be careful: we must not eat horse chestnuts! They are poisonous and can cause nausea, stomach ache and vomiting. However, the seeds of another kind of chestnut are perfectly safe to eat. We call them sweet chestnuts or edible chestnuts.

Their fruits look similar to those of horse chestnuts, but they are enclosed by even more prickles. These sweet chestnuts are also called "marrons". In winter, you can find small stalls in some cities selling roasted chestnuts. They can also be prepared in many different ways in the kitchen.

Sweet chestnut wood is slightly darker than horse chestnut wood. Chestnut wood is used to make kitchen utensils, buttons and boxes.

It takes many years for a sapling to grow into a full-sized tree. Chestnut trees can grow to about 30 metres tall and become very broad. They can live for 200 years. Chestnut trees are especially popular in schoolyards. Children like playing in their shade. But they especially love the seeds, which have the same name as the tree. You can make funny figures out of them. Adults, on the other hand, like sitting beneath the chestnut trees in a beer garden.

You can surely make crafts out of chestnuts, too. Or you could collect some chestnut seeds, find a good spot and plant them. Then, over the years, you can watch what becomes of them. And one day, you’ll tell your children’s children that you planted the huge tree in whose shade they can play so wonderfully.