Castanopsis cuspidata

Castanopsis cuspidata (Japanese chinquapin; Japanese tsuburajii, 円椎) is a species of Castanopsis native to southern Japan and southern Korea.

Castanopsis cuspidata
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Fagaceae
Genus:	Castanopsis
Species:	C. cuspidata
Binomial name
Castanopsis cuspidata (Thunb.) Schottky
Synonyms
Pasania cuspidata (Thunb.) Oerst. Pasaniopsis cuspidata (Thunb.) Kudô Quercus cuspidata Thunb.

It is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 20–30 m tall, related to beech and oak. The leaves are 5–9 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, leathery in texture, with an entire or irregularly toothed margin.^[2] It grows in woods and ravines, especially near the sea.

The cotyledon of the nut is eaten boiled or roasted.^[3]

Its dead wood serves as host to many mushroom types, most notably the shiitake, whose Japanese name (椎茸) is composed of shii (椎, the Castanopsis tree), and take (茸; "mushroom").^[4]

Gallery

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  Bark of base of mature tree
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  Tall trunk of mature tree
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  Slender, fountain-like canopy of mature specimen, viewed from beneath
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  Mature, deep green leaves
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  Flowering shoots
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  Closeup of slender inflorescences
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  Edible seeds/nuts
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  Preserved specimen from herbarium, with descriptive notes
• 
  Dead trunk, with fruiting bodies of shiitake