Chestnut Comparison Chart

	Chinkapin	Japanese	Chinese	European	American	Hybrids
Picture
Leaf taper to stem	straight	curved	curved	curved	straight	Be aware that all chestnuts can cross-pollinate, so that the chestnut you are trying to identify may actually be a mix of two or more different types of chestnuts, known as a hybrid. We can attempt to identify your chestnut, if you are unable to do so, by means of a leaf and twig sample. Please press one or two fresh leaves between cardboard with a 4-6 inch twig. Do not use plastic unless it is perforated or the leaves will mold. Crushed and bent leaves will not be in good enough condition to positively analyze. Mail to: Kendra Collins New England Regional Science Coordinator Northern Research Station, US Forest Service 705 Spear Street South Burlington, VT 05403
Leaf taper to tip	straight	curved	curved	curved	straight
Teeth	1-3 mm, small, sharp, no hook	tiny, often only bristles, no hook	large or small, not pronounced or hooked	big, sharp or rounded, no hook	6 mm, big, sharp, and often curved (hooked)
Underside	sun leaves hairy	many large dots (glands), sun leaves hairy	sparse dots, sun leaves hairy	many small dots, sun leaves hairy on some specimens but not others	many small dots, sun leaves not hairy, long sparse hairs only on midrib
Twig	hair tips, purple	pink to light red, large white lenticels	hairy tips, tan to pea green, large elliptical yellow lenticels	stout, dark brown, small white lenticels	slender, smooth, hairless, reddish brown, small white lenticels
Bud	3 mm, downy dark red, pointed, longer than wide, sticks out from stem	glossy brown, as long as it is wide (rounded)	hairy, tan, dull brown to black, rounded and flat against stem	dark red, fat and globular	long 6 mm, smooth, reddish brown, pointed or longer than it is wide, sticks out from stem
Nut	1 nut, 1/2 tip pointed with a round cross section	2-3 nuts, 1-2 in.	2-3 nuts, 3/4-2 in., rounded hairy tip, sunburst pattern	2-3 nuts, 1-2 in.	2-3 nuts, 1/2-1 in., pointed tip, top 1/3-2/3 downy, sunburst at base
Taste	sweet	not sweet	sweet	starchy	sweet
Blight resistance	slight	moderate	high	slight	none