Nuts can be loosely defined as any type of hard-shelled seed or fruit that can easily be separated from the internal kernel. Botanists use a more restrictive definition, eliminating certain species that are commonly regarded as nuts, including acorns, hazelnuts and chestnuts. By botany’s standards, not all nuts have an edible internal kernel. The sweet chestnut, pictured here, grows inside a spiny bur.

Oxford Scientific Films

Sweet Chestnut," Microsoft® Encarta® 96 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Sweet Chestnut Tree

The European, or sweet, chestnut, belongs to the same family as the oak. This species was introduced into the United States largely for its resistance to the chestnut blight, a disease responsible for the destruction of American chestnut trees during the early twentieth century. Although the chestnut is prized for the quality of its nuts, the introduced European, Japanese, and Chinese varieties lack the taste and texture of the nearly extinct American species.

Sweet Chestnut Tree," Microsoft® Encarta® 96 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

The bud growing at the end of this horse chestnut twig is called a terminal bud. Lateral buds are those that grow along the length of the stem. The bud itself is the embryonic shoot of the plant and contains the undeveloped flowers, shoots, or stems.

Oxford Scientific Films

Horse Chestnut Buds Starting to Open," Microsoft® Encarta® 96 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Albion College Vascular Plant Image Gallery

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