Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Castanea alabamensis

(Castanea ozarkensis)

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Description

Castanea ozarkensis, commonly called Ozark Chinquapin, is a small tree or large shrub that is native to the Ozark-Ouachita Mountain regions of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. In Missouri, it is typically found in dry upland ridges in the far southern part of the State (Steyermark). Ozark Chinquapin was formerly a medium sized tree rising to a stately 60’ tall or more, but chestnut blight has now reduced its status in most areas to that of a shrubby tree that sprouts from old remaining stumps and root systems. Coarsely-toothed, oblong to lanceolate, glabrous, yellowish-green leaves (5-8” long) are paler and downy-white below. Leaves are similar in appearance to those of Chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii). Leaves turn shades of yellow in fall. Male flowers appear in catkins (2-8” long) in late May-June. Female flowers appear at the base of male catkins. Fruits are spiny burs (to 1 1/4” diameter) that appear in small clusters, with each bur encasing one small rounded seed (sweet-tasting edible chestnut). These chestnuts were once a food source for native Americans and early settlers as well as for a variety of mammals (e.g., squirrels, chipmunks and deer) and birds (e.g., turkey and bobwhite). This species is synonymous with and sometimes listed as Castanea pumila var. ozarkensis. Genus name comes from the Latin name for this tree which was derived from the town of Castania in Thessaly where the trees reportedly grew in abundance.  

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Fagales
Family:Fagaceae
Genus:Castanea
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