(Xu Yongzhen)

Scientific name: Castanopsis. There are more than 120 species of FAGACEAE, distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia. There are about 60 species in China, which are important groups of evergreen broad-leaved forest in southern China.

Function and use

Mostly big trees and sparse shrubs. Buds have scales. Leaves alternate, entire or serrate, pinnately veined. Flowers unisexual, arranged in erect spikes; Male flowers are usually 3-merous 1, perianth 5-6-lobed, stamens 10 ~ 12 or more; Female flower 1 ~ 3, born in involucre, perianth 6-lobed, ovary inferior, 3 rooms, 2 ovules and 3 styles per room. Bracteoles outside involucre are usually spiny. The fruit ripens within 1 or 2 years. Wood is solid, dense and durable, and is suitable for buildings, sleepers, ships, farm tools and other materials. Seed starch content and soluble sugar 6 1 ~ 68%, tannin content mostly below 27%, edible. Bark and shell bucket are rich in tannins.

Main types

① Red vertebra. (2) Castanopsis fissa: also known as Castanopsis fissa. Buds have scales. The young branches are covered with reddish-brown bran powder and fall off quickly. The back of the leaves is covered with reddish brown to yellowish brown bran powder, and the back of the old leaves is covered with a yellowish wax layer. The fruit thorn is shorter than the red vertebra and cracks irregularly when it matures; There are 1 nuts in the shell barrel. China, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Taiwan Province provinces. (3) Beech in Tibet: The height of the tree is 30m, and the DBH is 2m. Young branches are hairless. The leaves are leathery, oval to oblong, with a length of15 ~ 25cm and a width of 5 ~10cm, with a short and sharp tip, a nearly round or wide wedge-shaped base, serrations above the middle of the edge and brown or silver-gray scales on the back; 13 ~ 18 contralateral veins; Petiole length 1.5 ~ 3 cm. Male inflorescence conical or spike-shaped; The female inflorescence has a female flower in each involucre, and the fruit sequence is about 10 cm long. The involucre is nearly spherical, with 4 regular petals at maturity, and the thorn diameter is 5 ~ 8 cm; Bracteoles are needle-shaped, dense, long 1.5 ~ 2.5 cm, and the base is combined into a thorn axis, which is dark brown. There are 1 nut in the involucre, which is broadly ovoid, about 2.5 cm in diameter and densely covered with brown fluff. China, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou and Yunnan. In the mountain evergreen broad-leaved forest below the altitude of 1200m, valleys and slopes are wet places, forming pure forests or mixing with other evergreen plants, which is one of the main tree species of evergreen broad-leaved forest. (4) Castanopsis kawakamii [C. India (ROXB. ) A.DC]: 30 meters high and 90 centimeters in diameter at breast height. Young branches, petioles and inflorescence axes are all yellow-brown pilose. The leaves are leathery, oblong or obovate, 8 ~ 20cm long and 4 ~10cm wide, the top is tapered, the base is broadly wedge-shaped or nearly round, the back is yellow-brown pubescent, and there are coarse serrations above the edge base; Lateral veins 15 ~ 20 pairs, reaching the tooth end, and the secondary veins on the back are obvious; The petiole is about 1.5 cm long. Fruit sequence length10 ~ 20 cm; The involucre is nearly spherical, and the thorn diameter is about 4 cm; Bracteoles acicular, dense; There are 1 nut, oval, 0.8 ~ 1.3 cm in diameter and hairy. China, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Tibet. India, Vietnam and Laos are also distributed. Born below 800 meters above sea level. It is the main tree species of some evergreen broad-leaved forests. ⑤ Haruki Kawakami: A tree, 30 meters high. Branchlets reddish brown and glabrous. The leaves are ovate or ovoid-lanceolate, 7 ~ 12 cm long and 2.5 ~ 4.5 cm wide, with tapering or tail tip at the top, wide wedge-shaped or nearly round at the base, with 1 ~ 3 pairs of shallow blunt teeth on the whole or upper part, and light green and hairless at the lower part; 8 ~ 15 contralateral veins; The petiole is about 65438 0 cm long. The shell bucket is spherical, with dense thorns on the outside, 4 petals cracked, the diameter of thorns is 6 ~ 8 cm, and there are 1 nut inside; Nuts are oblate, conical, about 2 cm in diameter and covered with yellowish brown fluff. China, Fujian, Taiwan Province, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi. Born in evergreen broad-leaved forest. It is a national third-class key protected plant. ⑥ Castanopsis kawakamii. ): arbor, 25 meters high. The leaves are obovate or oval, hard leathery, with rough serrations or wavy serrations on the edges, smooth on both sides, bright green on the surface, and gray-brown or silver-gray waxy on the back of the leaves. The fruit is small, broadly ovoid or nearly round, with several short spines, and the diameter of the spines is about 2 cm. China, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Yunnan; Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand are also distributed. The altitude of Yunnan is 1500 ~ 1800 meters, forming a pure forest or mixed with Pinus yunnanensis. Such as moist, fertile acid soil or neutral soil. It can also grow in barren rocks. Because of its deep root system, transplanting is not easy to survive, and it is suitable for direct seeding afforestation. All landowners Castanopsis fargesii: also known as Castanopsis fargesii. Tree, 25 meters high, DBH 1 meter. Branchlets glabrous. The leaves are obovate or oblong, 8 ~ 15 cm long and 3 ~ 6.5 cm wide, with a tail tip or tapering at the top, a round or wide wedge-shaped base, serrated above the middle of the leaf margin, and the back of young leaves is densely covered with reddish-brown scales, which turns silver-gray when old; 9 ~ 12 contralateral veins; The petiole is about 65438 0 cm long. Infructescence is 6 ~ 10 cm long; The involucre is nearly spherical or broadly ovoid, with a diameter of 65438 0.5 ~ 3 cm; Bracteoles are needle-shaped, 4 ~ 7 mm long, and the middle and upper parts are combined into broad flat spines, which are sparsely arranged in 4 ~ 6 circles and have 1 ~ 3 nuts; Nuts are conical, with a diameter of 1.5 ~ 2 cm, and are densely covered with brown fluff. China, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan are warm and humid areas below 2400 meters above sea level. More shade-tolerant, often forming a pure forest or mixed with shade-tolerant trees such as Schima superba. 8 C. Fabrihance: arbor, up to 30 meters high. Branchlets glabrous. The leaves are ovoid or ovoid-lanceolate, 9 ~ 15cm long and 3 ~ 4.5cm wide, with tapering or tail tip at the top, wedge-shaped to nearly round at the base, slightly skewed, with a few serrations at the top, and the back of the leaves is covered with yellowish brown scales, and then becomes light brown; 10 ~ 14 contralateral veins; Petiole length 1 ~ 2 cm. There are three female flowers in an involucre. The shell bucket is oval with a thorn diameter of 2 ~ 2.5 cm; The involucre is sparsely and intermittently arranged with thorns, and there are 1 ~ 3 nuts in it. Widely distributed in provinces (regions) south of the Yangtze River in China. Vietnam and Laos are also distributed. Li Wei: Up to 25 meters. Branchlets are grayish brown pilose. The leaves are long and square-lanceolate, the apex is tapered, the base is wedge-shaped or round, the edge above the middle is serrated, and the back of the leaves is densely gray pubescent; 12 ~ 14 contralateral veins; The petiole is 5 ~ 10 mm long. Three female flowers are born in the involucre of 1. The shell bucket is nearly spherical, 2 ~ 3 cm in diameter, and there are 1 ~ 3 nuts in it. China, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi. Born below 2000 meters above sea level, it is one of the main tree species in evergreen broad-leaved forest. Attending C. Orhasantha France: arbor, 20 meters high. The leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 7 ~ 12 cm long and 2 ~ 4 cm wide, with a tapering or tail tip at the apex, hairless serrations in the middle and green on both sides. Three female flowers are born in the involucre of 1. The shell bucket is spherical or pear-shaped, with short and thick thorns around it. When it matures, it has irregular valves and contains 1 ~ 3 nuts. China, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi. ? C.fissa(Champ，ex Benth。 )rehd。 A tree, 20 meters high. The young branches are angular. Leaves are thin leathery or papery, oval, oblong to obovate-lanceolate, with a length of 17 ~ 30cm and a width of 5 ~ 12cm, lateral veins of 16 ~ 20 pairs, and the leaf margin is obtuse or wavy. Young leaves are covered with reddish-brown powder scales, which are easy to fall off. When old, the leaves are grayish brown or light gray, with two sides. The shell bucket is oval, covering most nuts, and it breaks irregularly from the top when it matures. Nuts are oval, mature in that year, with a diameter of 1. 1 ~ 1.6 cm. China, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, southern Guizhou and southeastern Yunnan. It is also distributed in Vietnam. Often born on slopes and foothills below 1000 meters above sea level. Fast growth and strong germination. Wood is easy to dry and has strong firepower when burning, so it is an excellent firewood. Sowing afforestation or budding regeneration is often used. ? Mi tuo Also known as Mi Tuo. This species is closely related to Castanopsis fargesii, and the differences are as follows: the leaf margin is obviously serrated, and the back of the leaf is light brown; The involucre covers half a nut and is cup-shaped. Yunnan, China. Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand are also distributed. It is a common tree species in the secondary forest at an altitude of 1000 ~ 1600 meters. ? Miso [Kuo]. ) short. 】: Trees, up to 20 meters high. Branchlets slightly angular, glabrous. The leaves are thick leathery, oblong to oval, 7 ~14cm long and 3 ~ 5.5cm wide, with lateral veins 10 ~ 14 pairs, with sparse sharp serrations above the middle of the leaf margin, smooth sides and silvery gray back. The shell bucket is nearly spherical and almost completely covered with nuts. China is distributed to the south of the Yangtze River except Taiwan Province Province, Yunnan and Guangdong Hainan Island. Born in the hilly area below 1000 meters above sea level. It is the northernmost species in this genus. Suitable for being born in deep, moist neutral and acidic soil, resistant to drought and barren. Castanopsis sclerophylla is often associated with Cunninghamia lanceolata, Castanopsis fargesii and Cinnamomum camphora, and is one of the tree species composed of evergreen broad-leaved forests in low mountains. Shade tolerance and strong germination.