10-14-2006, 05:57 PM
Hi Paul,
The wild one being the edible variety? The Romans are said to have imported the edible chestnuts Castanea sativa in these parts, it has been dated back as far as 200 BC, so there may be some Celtic influence in it's spread as well. There is an American variety, the Castanea dendata, like you stated, almost wiped out by the chestnut blight. Being of the same forest system, I would say they are closely related. In Roman era, the chestnut was cultivated in Greece (its Latin name harks back to the province they were cultivate in, Kastanéia in Pontus, the added sativa means "cultivated, useful and satisfying/filling"), the oldest known living trees found on the slopes of the Etna and dating back to Roman times (2000 to 4000 years old). The chestnut is related to the beech tree as well as the oak.
The walnut is also a very important tree to the Romans. They are native to the southern regions of Europe originating in Persia and introduced in Greece. From what I have gathered, the walnut was introduced to the America's by man. The tree is dedicated to Jupiter and called ‘jovis glans’ (nuts of Jupiter) and is of some religious value. There is a connection with Juno, and the leaves were used in wedding ceremonies.
From what I know of trees, the differences in species deal mainly with the habitus, meaning the form of the tree canopy and the shape of leaves and fruit. There may be some differences in bark, but this is not easy to spot (at least, not by me
). The wood is often very similar in related species, so I would presume you could use the wood you have without any problems. The appearance is very, very similar.
The wild one being the edible variety? The Romans are said to have imported the edible chestnuts Castanea sativa in these parts, it has been dated back as far as 200 BC, so there may be some Celtic influence in it's spread as well. There is an American variety, the Castanea dendata, like you stated, almost wiped out by the chestnut blight. Being of the same forest system, I would say they are closely related. In Roman era, the chestnut was cultivated in Greece (its Latin name harks back to the province they were cultivate in, Kastanéia in Pontus, the added sativa means "cultivated, useful and satisfying/filling"), the oldest known living trees found on the slopes of the Etna and dating back to Roman times (2000 to 4000 years old). The chestnut is related to the beech tree as well as the oak.
The walnut is also a very important tree to the Romans. They are native to the southern regions of Europe originating in Persia and introduced in Greece. From what I have gathered, the walnut was introduced to the America's by man. The tree is dedicated to Jupiter and called ‘jovis glans’ (nuts of Jupiter) and is of some religious value. There is a connection with Juno, and the leaves were used in wedding ceremonies.
From what I know of trees, the differences in species deal mainly with the habitus, meaning the form of the tree canopy and the shape of leaves and fruit. There may be some differences in bark, but this is not easy to spot (at least, not by me
). The wood is often very similar in related species, so I would presume you could use the wood you have without any problems. The appearance is very, very similar.
