Castanea henryi (Skan) Rehd. & Wils.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Castanea henryi' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/castanea/castanea-henryi/). Accessed 2025-04-27.

Family

Fagaceae

Genus

Castanea

Synonyms

Castanopsis henryi Skan

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

nut: Dry indehiscent single-seeded fruit with woody outer wall.
apex: (pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
appressed: Lying flat against an object.
cone: Term used here primarily to indicate the seed-bearing (female) structure of a conifer (‘conifer’ = ‘cone-producer’); otherwise known as a strobilus. A number of flowering plants produce cone-like seed-bearing structures including Betulaceae and Casuarinaceae.
glabrous: Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
lanceolate: Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Castanea henryi' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/castanea/castanea-henryi/). Accessed 2025-04-27.

Castanea henryi in flower, growing at the Morris Arboretum on 1 June 2017, from seed collected in Hubei, China in 1994. Image Paul W. Meyer.

A deciduous tree 60 to 80 ft high, its trunk 6 to 9 ft in girth; young shoots dark-coloured and quite glabrous. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, wedge-shaped at the base, tapered at the apex to a long slender point, the margin set with bristlelike teeth terminating the primary veins; 4 to 8 in. long, 1 to 21⁄2 in. wide; green on both surfaces but rather paler below and quite glabrous except for a few whitish appressed hairs on the veins; veins in twelve to twenty pairs; stalk 1⁄4 to 1 in. long, glabrous. Male catkins 4 in. or more long, solitary in the leaf-axils. Nut solitary in the husk, cone-shaped, 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in. wide at the base, enclosed in a prickly husk 1 in. wide. The fruits may be solitary or two or three in a cluster.

Native of China, where it is widely spread; according to Wilson it is common in the mountain woods of Hupeh and Szechwan. It was introduced by him to the Coombe Wood nursery in 1900, and a plant obtained from there is growing at Kew. Although hardy it does not promise to make a fine tree. The largest in the collection is forty-five years old and only 16 ft high.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

This species is portrayed in Bot. Mag., n.s., t.882, from the plant at Kew mentioned on page 529. The largest specimen recorded grows at Abbeyleix, Co. Laois, Eire, and measures 30 × 33⁄4 ft (1985). In the Hillier Arboretum, Ampfield, Hants, it has reached 26 × 1 ft (1985).

A repropagation of Castanea henryi W 777, accessioned in 2009, in full flower at Kew on 11th June 2022. Image Owen Johnson.

Fruits developing on the repropagation of Castanea henryi W 777 at Kew in September 2011. Image John Anderson.

Foliage on the repropagation of Castanea henryi W 777 at Kew. Image John Anderson.

Castanea henryi foliage. Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK. August 2008. Image John Anderson.

The underside of Castanea henryi foliage. Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK. August 2008. Image John Anderson.

Castanea henryi with autumn colour on 14 November 2014, raised from seed wild-collected in Hubei, China in 1994. Image Paul W. Meyer.

Foliage on Castanea henryi CMBS 878, taken from a plant at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK (4 October 2011). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Leaf selection on Castanea henryi, the lamina ovate-oblong (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 4 October 2011). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Glabrous shoot and petioles on Castanea henryi (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 4 October 2011). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Glabrous lamina lower surface and bristly-dentate margin on Castanea henryi (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 4 October 2011). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

With its slender leaves and moderate stature, Castanea henryi is one of the most graceful members of its genus in cultivation. This 9 m tree planted in 1983 at Peasmarsh Place, East Sussex, UK is just leafing out on 3rd May 2018. Image Owen Johnson.

Castanea henryi in flower at the Morris Arboretum on 4 June 2017. Raised from seed wild-collected in Hubei, China in 1994. Image Paul W. Meyer.

Castanea henryi in flower growing at the Morris Arboretum on 1 June 2017, from seed wild-collected in Hubei, China in 1994. Image Paul W. Meyer.

One of two Castanea henryi at Hergest Croft gardens, UK, planted in 2007 from Coombes 755 has adopted an attractively weeping habit. September 2023. Image Owen Johnson.

Deeply furrowed bark on the trunk of a mature Castanea henryi 46 cm dbh at Winkworth Arboretum, Surrey, UK; August 2023. Image Owen Johnson.

Very attractive colourful young foliage of Castanea henryi MF 0652, collected in Hunan province, at White House Farm, Kent, UK. 23 April 2024. Image Jack Aldridge.