What does «castaño» mean in Spanish?
- Deciduous tree of the genus Castanea and the beech family, i.e. of the fagaceae or cupuliferae (v. Beech). The genus comprises 10 species distributed in the Mediterranean regions, SW and E Asia and E and S United States. Its cream-white flowers, borne in long ascending male catkins and short bisexual ones, appear when the leaves, lanceolate and toothed, have almost reached maturity. Its edible fruit, the chestnut, rounded, brownish, appears contained alone or in groups of two or three units, inside a spiny dome of two, three or four valves. The cotyledons are thick and remain underground during germination. One of the most important species is the Spanish chestnut tree (C. Sativa), of large size and fine hard wood, which prefers humid soils. Its flowers are visited by up to 135 species of insects belonging to 87 genera and 34 families, 60% of which are beetles. It is believed that these once pollinated the tree, which is currently becoming an anemophilous pollination plant. It is related to the American chestnut (C. dentata), appreciated for its rapid growth. It reaches a height of 30 m or more. It grows in humid clayey and sandy soils, where it reaches heights of more than 30 m. Its chestnuts are 12 to 25 mm wide and appear in groups of two or three in each achene. The Chinese chestnut (C. mollissima) and the Japanese chestnut (C. crenata) are an important domestic and export food item. The American chestnut, unlike the other species, seems doomed to extinction because of the so-called "chestnut blight". The genus Castanea appeared during the late Cretaceous period, as did the oaks and other members of this family. It seems that all these trees come from the ancient genus Dryophyllum, which disappeared in the Miocene. See Geological eras.