This beautiful plant is undoubtedly the decoration of our planet.Chestnut tree belongs to the family of beech.Scientists suggest that it existed in the Tertiary period.In the past, its distribution area was much larger than today: he grew up in Asia Minor, the Caucasus and on Sakhalin, Greenland and North America, on the shores of the Mediterranean.Homeland chestnut is considered to be Asia Minor and the Caucasus.
impressive beauty
Modern chestnut tree is about 2 meters in diameter, and grows to a height of 35 meters.There are exceptions, as in Sicily grew "Chestnut hundred horsemen" of gigantic proportions, he was across almost 20 meters.The leaves of the tree are quite large - a length of 25 cm, width 8 cm plate. On the shoots are spirally arranged.Leaf color varies according to the seasons.In the spring they are brown-red, green in summer, autumn becomes golden yellow.In adult trees Krone begins with a height of at least 7 meters, the lower branches fall off.After leafing plant immediately begins to bloom.
Fruits - the main wealth
People in ancient times realized that the chestnut tree can be used for their own purposes.His nuts in some areas of the world where it is impossible to growing cereals are a major component of human food.Obtained from the fruit of flour by the presence of nutrients greater than wheat, and mixing them, succeeded much better taste and quality of bread.Nuts themselves are also used as food - they cooked, grilled, dried.
at the service of man
chestnut tree is widely used today.Its fruit is used not only in food but also in medicine, wood furniture is made excellent.Chestnut is an excellent honey plant, one mature tree can yield up to 20 kilograms of honey.The wood is also used in the construction and from the bark and leaves of the natural dyes is obtained.But the main wealth of chestnut - is its fruit.Annual world production of the nuts reaches half a million tons.
distant relative
right to be called a real chestnut or noble, is entitled only sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa).But he has a relative who in popularity considerably inferior to his brother, but is well known in Russia.This common brown in our country called the pony.The two kinds of fruits only similar, and the leaves and flowers are completely different.They even belong to different families.This belongs to the beech and horse - to konskokashtanovym.
Wood - traveler from the Balkans
More recently, horse chestnut is rarely to be found in central Russia.Although the city of Kiev has been decorated with all these magnificent trees in the territories north of the capital of Ukraine, he was considered thermophilic guest artist.Today, chestnut cultivation of which we become commonplace, it considered its many Russian cities.Few people remember that his real home to forests of the Balkan Mountains.In Europe, horse chestnut has long revered as an outstanding tree that can decorate any park.The special charm give him an impressive stocky trunk, grayish-white bark and large semipalye leaves.
