When is a Chestnut Not a Chestnut?

On a recent trip to America, I was pleased to see many plants I had known only from gardens, growing in the context of the native environment. However, there were also as many that were completely new to me.

One of these was a small shrub with spiky fruit that looked a bit like a scaled down version of a Chestnut. Inside (ouch!) was a small nut that also looked remarkably Chestnut-like!

I looked everywhere for a local Botanist to help me identify this mysterious critter, but in the end I had to do it myself. It turns out that it really was a kind of Chestnut - at least in the sense that it was a species in the same genus (Castanea sp.).

Although I couldn't work out which exact species it was, it clearly fell within the group known as Chinquapins (or Chinkapins), a few of which are being considered as potential new crops.

As yet, I know of no work in Australia to develop this crop, but there is a page on the Purdue University site that talks about it.

If anyone knows anything more about these interesting plants, or is actually growing them, I would love to hear about it! Please contact me by email with any interesting stories about this or other potential new crops.