Aesculus Hippocastanum

Chestnuts are a group of 8 – 9 species of deciduous trees in Genus Castanea of the beech family Fagaceae.

• Kingdom : Plantae
• Clade : Angiosperms
• Order : Fagales
• Family : Fagaceae
• Genus : Castanea

It has many species such as Castanea Crenata (Japanese Chestnut), Castanea Dentata (American Chestnut), Castanea Sativa (Sweet Chestnut). Two commonly accepted spices are American & European.

Chestnut trees are of moderate growth rate to fast for American & European species. Height may vary between 10 – 30 m. Trunk of chestnut is columnar, which are firmly set & massive. When standing they are broad, rounded, dense crowns at maturity. Flowers & leaves appear in late spring or early summers in the month of July. Each flower has 8 stamens. The ripe pollen carries a heavy & sweet door. Chestnut flowers are not self compatible therefore two trees are required for pollination. 

USAGE :

• Chestnuts have very little protein or fats, their calories mainly come from carbohydrates. Fresh Chestnut have about 189 Kcal. It contains very minimal fat, mostly unsaturated & no gluten.
• Chestnut fruit can be dried & milled into flour and can be used to prepare breads, cakes, pies, pancakes, pastas & used in strews, soups and sauces as thickener.
• Chestnuts are added to animal fodder as well.
• Used as timber, of the same family as Oak Chestnut timber is very decorative and light brown in colour.
• Chestnut has been listed and recognised as one of the 38 substances used to prepare BACH FLOWER REMEDIES (BFR), an alternative medicine promoted for it’s effect on health and wellbeing.
• Its extracts were evaluated through several biochemical assays showing evident antioxidant properties.
• Chestnut Bud as a BFR is strongly advisable to those individuals who often fail to learn lessons from their previous mistakes. Such type of people find it extremely difficult to take full advantage of their poor experiences and observations and tend to repeat same mistakes over a period of time. They are also slow learners where Chestnut Bud helps them to overcome their difficulties.