The little chestnut that survived. Photo by Will Cook, North Carolina Plant Photos.
One way to think of Chinquapins is they are small Chestnuts that survived. In the same genus as their bigger relative — Castenea — when the blight wipeout the Chestnuts Chinquepins suffered but some managed to survive. One can see the Allegany Chinquepin (C. pumila) while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Their nut is about half of the size of their deceased relative but still worth collecting. We also know some of the nutrition of another edible Chinquepin, the Ozark Chinkapin (C. ozarkensis.)
Chinquapins pack a lot of nutrition.
Per 100 grams it has 443 calories, 18 grams of fat, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 13 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber. The fat is 10 grams monounsaturated, 4 grams polyunsaturated and 4 grams saturated. Potassium is 77 mg, no sodium reported. A second report says they are 5% fat, 55 protein, 40% starch and 50% water with 4736 calories per kilo. European chestnuts, not affected by blight, are the only cultivated and consumed nut that has vitamin C, about 40 mg per 3.5 ounce serving.
In the Beech family the Chinkapin has been called them most ignored and undervalued native North American nut tree. It has a sweet and edible nut and has been used for fuel, charcoal, fence posts, railroad ties and a coffee and chocolate substitute (as are the seeds of the Blue Beech, aka the American Hornbean, Carpinus caroliniana.)
Just how many “Castanea” species there are is anyone’s guess. For example the USDA uses the name Castanea pumila for the Allegany Chinkepin. They say it is also called American chinquapin, C. alnifolia, C. ashei, C. floridana, C. margaretta, C. nana, C. paucispina, chinquapin, dwarf chestnut, Fagus pumila, and Golden Chinquapin. We are fairly sure C. ozarkensis is a separate species. C. davidii, C. seguinii, C. mollissima and C. henryi are from Asia, C. creanata, Japan. To my knowledge all of them have edible nuts. Chinkapin’s native range is New Jersey and West Virginia, west to Missouri and Oklahoma, and south to Texas and Florida. It’s been planted in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Green Deane Itemized Plant Profile
IDENTIFICATION: Chinkapin is a small tree or large shrub that grows six to 15 feet tall. Twigs are densely hairy when young becoming shiny brown with reddish-hairy buds. The leaves alternate, are simple, short-stemmed, prominently veined, oblong with fine pointed teeth or bristles, and hairy on the lower surface. The fruit is a spiny bur with a single nut. Bur opens like a clam shell.
TIME OF YEAR: Early September with some leeway for location.
ENVIRONMENT: It does not like limestone or sand dunes. Prefers mixed hardwood forests with pines and oaks on ridges and slopes, under 4450 feet. Heat tolerant but intolerant of salt spay or shade.
METHOD OF PREPARATION: Shelled nuts eaten raw or roasted.
I saw those hiking up mt. San Grigonio in the San Bernardino mountains.
I’ve seen a few chinkapins in Florida and Alabama over the years… the largest being about 3 inches in diameter. And I’ve eaten a few sparse nuts when they happened to be ripe”. I just wanted to mention how funny it was when I read, “…the Chinkapin has been used for… railroad ties…” And then later you said, “Chinkapin… grows six to 15 feet tall.” The only railroad ties this little tree would make would be for toy trains or models. Ha, ha, ha!!! I would have also mentioned that they can be used for toothpicks and match sticks! Ha, ha, ha!!! HOWEVER, after doing a quick search, I found out that BEFORE THE CHESTNUIT BLIGHT, some chinquapins “grew up to 65 feet tall and 2-3 feet in diameter” and they were indeed used for fence posts and railroad ties because of their ability to resist decay. Very cool!!! https://ozarkchinquapinmembership.org/about-the-tree/
by the way, I’ve been away from an office computer for about 3 or 4 years now, and it’s great to be back! I’m re-signing up for your newsletter next, and THANK YOU for the great content! I love this stuff!
When I was a child my mama and daddy cut fire wood which was across the lake from our property, he found the tree and was not going to cut it but wanted to show us children what the Indians ate, we are choctaw, Soo we ran to see the tree and encountered a thick blanket of dried nut hulls with spins on the Soo hard you had to crack them with a hammer and holding them still was a chore by it’s self, dad stood there and cracked some for us , it was cold outside and the month of October or November, we ate some but he said save some for the deer, the tree was pretty big with a dark bark, the branches were many and this tree must have been old but still thriving in the woods where nothing else goes but the wild animals or a hunter. The taste was on the sweet side and looked like a philbert, which is the nut you see at Christmas with all other possible nuts as a mix. The philbert has a slick woody bark shell that is hard, but can be cracked, the chinquapin is a
Treat. There are a tribe of Indians here in Louisiana where we live that are named in tribal language “chinquapin” they are in natchitoches Louisiana,some of the oldest tribes of this area. We are choctaw Indians and north in Shreveport Louisiana, my treated his find as a great one and a surprise as being Choctaw from choctaw national territory, OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST,
ARKANSAS.