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Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Tree, Shrub
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator
Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	Yes
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	Yellow
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Dense
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Coarse
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	Yes
Growth Form	Multiple Stem
Growth Rate	Moderate
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	14
Height, Mature (feet)	14
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Short
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	No
Shape and Orientation	Erect
Toxicity	None
Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	None
CaCO3 Tolerance	Low
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	High
Fertility Requirement	Low
Fire Tolerance	High
Frost Free Days, Minimum	150
Hedge Tolerance	Low
Moisture Use	Low
pH, Minimum	4.5
pH, Maximum	7.5
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	300
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	1200
Precipitation, Minimum	32
Precipitation, Maximum	60
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	20
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Tolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-23
Reproduction
Bloom Period	Spring
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Low
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	250
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	High
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None
Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	Yes
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	Yes
Palatable Browse Animal	Medium
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	Yes
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Low
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass  Hamamelididae

Order  Fagales

Family  Fagaceae -- Beech family

Genus  Castanea P. Mill. -- chestnut P

Species  Castanea pumila (L.) P. Mill. -- chinkapin P

 

Alternate Names

Allegheny chinkapin, American chinquapin, Castanea alnifolia, Castanea ashei, Castanea floridana, Castanea margaretta, Castanea nana, Castanea paucispina, chinquapin, dwarf chestnut, Fagus pumila, golden chinquapin.

 

Uses

Economic: Chinkapin nuts and wood are sold commercially.  The wood is light, hard, close-grained, and strong.  It is used for fence posts and fuel although it is not timbered because of its small stature and scattered occurrence.

 

Ethnobotanic: The Cherokee Indians used dried leaves as washes to alleviate headaches, fevers, chills, cold sweats, and fever blisters.  The Koasati Indians used the roots of chinkapin as a decoction for stomachaches.

Food source: Chinkapin nuts are palatable to humans as well as wildlife.  They have a sweet flavor and are often preferred over the fruit of the American chestnut.

 

Landscaping: Chinkapin is sometimes used for landscaping as a small ornamental tree or shrub.  Its flowers are attractive but have an unpleasant odor.

 

Restoration: Chinkapin can be used to rehabilitate disturbed sites because of its ability to adapt to harsh conditions.  The threat of chestnut blight often deters this decision by land managers.

 

Wildlife: Squirrels, chipmunks, opossums, white-tailed deer, blue jays, woodpeckers and other birds consume chinkapin nuts.  White-tailed deer browse the foliage.

 

Legal Status

Chinkapin is rare in its range.  It is threatened in Kentucky, endangered in New Jersey, and has been extirpated from most of Alabama by chestnut blight.  Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

 

Description

General: Beech Family (Fagaceae).  Chinkapin is a monoecious small tree or large shrub that grows to be 2 to 5 m tall.  The twigs are densely hairy (tomentose) when young, becoming shiny brown with densely reddish-hairy buds.  The leaves are alternate, simple, short-stemmed, prominently veined, oblong with fine pointed teeth or bristles, up to 15 cm long, and tomentose on the lower surface.  Male flowers are borne in the leaf axils, elongated, yellow to white, clustered, and have a strong odor.  Female flowers are rounder with a diameter up to 3 cm.  The fruit is a spiny bur that houses a single nut.  Male flowers appear in May and June, female flowers later in the season.  Fruits mature in autumn and winter.

 

Distribution: Chinkapin is native to the eastern and southern United States.  Its native range is from New Jersey and West Virginia, west to Missouri and Oklahoma, and south to Texas and Florida.  It has been planted in Wisconsin and Michigan where it has become a forest tree.  For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site (https://plants.usda.gov).

 

Habitat: Chinkapin occurs in mixed hardwood forests among longleaf pine and scrub oak trees on high ridges and slopes that are free from limestone.  It grows on black sandy dunes in the Carolinas, but not on frontal dunes.  It is also found on well-drained stream terraces, dry pinelands, and disturbed sites such as railroad rights-of-way, power line clearings, fence and hedgerows, pine plantations, and old fields.

 

Adaptation

The USDA hardiness zones for chinkapin are 6 to 10.  Chinkapin occurs in xeric and mesic sites on dry, rocky, sandy, or loamy soils.  It ranges in elevation from sea level to about 1,350 m (4,455 feet).  It occurs in open areas and is tolerant of high heat.  It is not tolerant of coastal salt spray or shade.

 

Management

Chinkapin plants form extensive clones where it has been burned annually.  It resprouts vigorously following top-kill by fire.  It will also regenerate upon overstory removal in stands where it had once been out-competed by canopy trees.

 

Chinkapin is not resistant to herbicides such as 2,4,5-T, bromacil, dicamba, picloram, and silvex.  It may resprout following herbicide treatments.

 

Pests and Potential Problems

Chinkapin is moderately resistant to chestnut blight, but fewer trees are reported each year due to the inhibitory effects of the fungus. 

 

Seeds and Plant Production

Chinkapin plants and seeds are not commonly produced commercially.  It reproduces readily from seed.  Collect seeds immediately after the spiny husks have split open to expose the nut.  Seeds that are planted in the fall show good germination (>90%) while seeds stored over winter dry out and germinate at reduced rates (<50%).  Seedlings will produce nuts in the third growing season, with large nut crops occurring during the fifth and sixth season.  Chinkapin also sprouts from rhizomes, forming dense colonies.

 

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

The NRCS Plant Materials Program has not released chinkapin cultivars for conservation use.  The ‘golden’ cultivar is produced for its wildlife value and adaptability to harsh sites.  Chinkapin cultivars may be of value for breeding blight-resistant trees with flavorful nuts. 

 

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information.  Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.”  The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

 

References

Agricultural Research Center. 2004. GRIN taxonomy (https://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/index, 9 May 2004). USDA, Beltsville.

 

American Chestnut Growers Foundation. 2004. Genus Castanea (https://www.ppws.vt.edu/griffin/accfcast.html, 9 May 2004). Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg.

 

Anagnostakis, S.L. 2004. Identification of American chestnut trees (https://www.caes.state.ct.us/FactSheetFiles/PlantPathology/fspp034f.htm, 9 May 2004). The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven.

 

Finical, L. 2004. Texas native trees (https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/about.html 9 May 2004). Dallas Arboretum, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Dallas.

 

Hamel, Paul B. and M.U. Chiltoskey. 1975. Cherokee plants and their uses—a 400 year history. Herald Publishing, Sylva.

 

Johnson, F.L. and B.W. Hoagland. Catalog of the woody plants of Oklahoma (https://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/cover.htm, 9 May 2004). Oklahoma University, Norman.

 

Nelson, G. 1996. Shrubs and woody vines of Florida. Pineapple Press Co., Sarasota.

 

Russell, A.B. 1997. Trees of the Maritime forest (https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/maritime/Castapu.htm, 9 May 2004). Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

 

Sullivan, J. 1994. Castanea pumila. (https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/, 9 May 2004). Fire Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula.

 

Taylor, L.A. 1940. Plants used as curatives by certain southeastern tribes. Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge.

 

Wunderlin, R.P., and B.F. Hansen. 2003. Atlas of Florida vascular plants (https://www.plantatlas.usf.edu, 9 May 2004). Institute of Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

 

Prepared By:

Sarah Wennerberg

Formerly USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

Species Coordinator:

Mark Skinner

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

Edited: 11May2004 sbw; 21Oct2004 rln; 01jun06 jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture