the chestnut tree

Chestnut tree in italian gardens (Castanea sativa)

the bread tree

A European Chestnut probably wouldn't be the obvious choice of tree for an Italian garden as it is generally considered to come from cooler climates but this majestic tree has played a large part in Italian culture. Although the chestnut is at home in gardens across northern Europe in far cooler climates has played an important role in Italian history both in the kitchen and in Italian society.

A native to Europe, the chestnut tree can grow to more than 30m in the cooler, mountainous areas of Italy and can be found living for hundreds of years. The tree has long narrow and serrated leaves and in May and June it bears yellow flowers which in turn form the famous chestnuts towards autumn.

The developing chestnuts are covered in a very spiny, butter-yellow husk. When the chestnuts finally ripen towards October, small stalls can be found roasting this sweet nut in most Italian cities from autumn until January and buying a small bag of roasted chestnuts has become an integral part of Italian culture in this period. Lovers can be found eating a bag of chestnuts during a stroll in the autumn, as an alternative to eating an ice cream during the warmer summer months. Although this is a romantic image, the fruit of the chestnut tree has served a far more important and practical purpose in the past one of sheer survival!

To the Italians that inhabit the countryside this magnificent and un-demanding tree is known as the bread tree because for many centuries the chestnuts were roasted in huge numbers laid upon thin hazel branches over hot coals and they were then ground down into flour in order to make a kind of polenta. The flour could also be used to make bread, in the absence of grain flour. This polenta and bread formed the staple diet and the only carbohydrate intake of mountain communities and rendered the cultivation of this very tree fundamental to their very existence.

Trees were planted in large numbers and allowed to grow until they reached around 10 15m tall and they would then have been literally decapitated to a height of around 3m during the winter to stunt vegetative growth and improve the size, quality and flavour of the trees fruit the chestnuts. These stunted yet high yielding trees are still farmed today in large fields (castagnetti) and can still be seen in small towns like Piancastagnaio (meaning: the plain of the chestnut fields) in Tuscany.

The old men that generally tend these castagnetti also thin the large branches of the tree annually and then use the wood as firewood, so the tree provides them with more than just food. In fact the roofs of houses during the earlier centuries were generally constructed using chestnut timber as it is a very durable and easily available timber. Therefore, it is safe to say that the chestnut tree has held a very important and somewhat symbolic place in Italys cultural history.

In a gardening context in Italy the chestnut tree can survive on very baron and poor soil but requires a cool winter and moisture to form healthy fruits. A small wood comprising of chestnut trees begins the year with a bright lime-green leaf canopy and then ends the year in a stunning butter-yellow that sits magnificently against the clear blue skies of autumn. The leaves tend to render the soil beneath the tree canopy slightly acidic which will favour acid-loving plants but hinder most alkaline loving Mediterranean plants. If you were to choose this plant to create a small wood you will be granted with the many useful aspects to this tree, both romantic, practical and edible.