Description:
A decidious Tree growing to 30m by 15m at a medium rate.
Distribution and habitat:
Woodland Garden; Canopy.
Hystory:
Parts used:
Leaves and fruit.
Constituens:
Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Seed.
Edible Uses: Coffee; Sweetener.
Seed - raw or cooked. A somewhat astringent taste
raw, it improves considerably when cooked and is delicious
baked with a floury texture and a flavour rather like sweet
potatoes. The seed is rich in carbohydrates, it can be dried,
then ground and used as a flour in breads, puddings, as a thickener
in soups etc. The roasted seed can be used as a coffee substitute.
A sugar can be extracted from the seed.
Medicinal Uses:
Antiinflammatory;
Astringent;
Bach;
Expectorant.
Although more commonly thought of as a food crop, sweet chestnut
leaves and bark are a good source of
tannins
and these have an
astringent action
useful in the treatment of bleeding, diarrhoea etc. The leaves
and bark are anti-inflammatory, astringent,
expectorant and
tonic.
They are harvested in June or July and can be used fresh
or dried. An infusion has been used in the treatment of fevers
and ague, but are mainly employed for their efficacy in treating
convulsive coughs such as whooping cough and in other irritable
conditions of the respiratory system. The leaves can also
be used in the treatment of rheumatism, to ease lower back
pains and to relieve stiff muscles and joints. A decoction
is a useful gargle for treating sore throats. The plant is
used in
Bach
flower remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'Extreme
mental anguish', Hopelessness' and 'Despair'.
Others Uses:
Basketry;
Fuel;
Hair;
Starch;
Tannin;
Wood.
Tannin is
obtained from the bark. The wood, leaves and seed husks also
contain tannin.
The husks contain 10 - 13% tannin.
On a 10% moisture basis, the bark contains 6.8% tannin and
the wood 13.4%. The meal of the seed has been used as a
source of starch and
also for whitening linen cloth. A hair shampoo is made from
the leaves and the skins
of the fruits. It imparts a golden gleam to the hair.
Wood - hard, strong, light. The young growing wood is very
durable, though older wood becomes brittle and liable to
crack. It is used for carpentry, turnery, props,
basketry,
fence posts etc. A very good
fuel.
Safety:
None known.
