Castanopsis nephelioides

Castanopsis nephelioides is an endemic tree species in Southeast Asia from the beech family ( Fagaceae ). The nuts are edible.

Features

Castanopsis nephelioides is a tree. The leaves are entire. The underside of the leaves is sparsely covered with short, simple hairs and glabrous.

The fruit cup ( cupulae ) are occupied with branched spines. They are upright, sparrig and always have two or three branches. Partially cover the skin of the fruit cup and are sparsely hairy. Each fruit cup contains only a nut, immature has an uneven side, and has a diameter of up to 2.5 inches including spines. The fruit cup does not open. The nut is ovoid.

Flowering period shall be January to May. Fruit ripening occurs from February to December, usually from July to September.

Dissemination and locations

The species occurs in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. It grows in lowland rain forests, deep mountain forests and in pine-oak forests in 50 to 1600 meters above sea level, usually in the 200 to 800 m.

Documents

• Cham Long Phengklai: A synoptic account of the Fagaceae of Thailand. Thai Forest Bulletin 2006, Volume 34, pp. 53-175, ISSN 0495-3843

• Note chestnuts
• Castanopsis
• Tree