Chinese Chestnut vs European Chestnut

Castanea mollissima compared with Castanea sativa

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chinese Chestnut	European Chestnut
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Fagales (Beeches & Oaks)	Fagales (Beeches & Oaks)
Family same	Fagaceae (Beech Family)	Fagaceae (Beech Family)
Genus same	Castanea	Castanea
Species	Castanea mollissima	Castanea sativa

Evolutionary Relationship

Chinese Chestnut and European Chestnut share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Castanea.

View Genus: Castanea

Conservation Status

Chinese Chestnut

LC — Least Concern

European Chestnut

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chinese Chestnut	European Chestnut
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chinese Chestnut

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Laos, Taiwan, and United States.

European Chestnut

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (18 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil, Chile).

Chinese Chestnut

The Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollissima) is a species in the genus Castanea. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.