chestnut tree in italian gardens (Castanea sativa) the bread tree When one thinks of Italian gardens the European Chestnut may not be the first tree that springs to mind, as it is more frequently found in gardens across northern Europe - in far milder climates. The magnificent chestnut tree can, however stake a claim to a significant piece of Italiy's history both culinary and cultural! The chestnut tree is actually native to Italy and it can reach a height of more than 30m in the cooler, mountainous areas of Italy and survives for many years. Chestnuts have long narrow leaves with serrated edges and they produce attractive yellow flowers in May and June which then become delicious chestnuts. The chestnuts form within a very spiny, butter yellow husk. The chestnuts then ripen towards October and small stalls can be found in many Italian cities from autumn until January roasting this sweet nut. Buying a small bag of roasted chestnuts has become an important element of Italian culture during this season. It's quite common to find couples eating a bag of chestnuts during an autumn stroll, as an alternative to the classic eating of ice cream during the warmer summer months. Besides this rather romantic image, the fruit of the chestnut tree has actually served a far more important and practical purpose in the past - for simple survival! For Italians that live in rural areas this noble and un-demanding tree is known as the bread tree because for many centuries the chestnuts were roasted in huge numbers laid upon thin hazel branches over hot coals and they were then ground down into flour in order to make a kind of sweet polenta. This kind of polenta flour was used to make bread, in the absence of grain flour. This polenta and bread formed the staple diet and the only carbohydrate intake of mountain communities and rendered the cultivation of this very tree fundamental to their very existence. Trees were planted in large numbers and grown to around 10 15m tall and they would then have been literally decapitated to a height of around 3m during the winter to stunt vegetative growth and improve the size, quality and flavour of the trees fruit the chestnuts. These high yielding trees are still farmed today in large fields (castagnetti) and can still be seen in small towns like Piancastagnaio (meaning: the plain of the chestnut fields) in Tuscany. These trees are generally farmed by old men. They annually thin any large branches and then use the wood as firewood. Therefore the chestnut tree provides them with more than just food. In fact the roofs of houses during the earlier centuries were generally constructed using chestnut timber as it is a very durable and easily available timber. Therefore, one could say that the chestnut tree has been a very important and very symbolic part of Italy's cultural history. In the Italian garden the chestnut tree is useful because it can survive on very baron and poor soil, however, it does require a cool winter and available moisture to form healthy fruits annually. A small part of the garden dedicated to the chestnut tree will begins the year with a stunning, lime-green leaf canopy and it will end the year in a stunning show of butter-yellow that stuns when seen against the clear blue skies of autumn. Unfortunately, the leaves of the chestnut do tend to render the soil beneath the tree canopy slightly acidic which will favour acid-loving plants but hinder most alkaline loving Mediterranean plants. If you were to choose this plant to create a small wood you will be granted with the many useful aspects to this tree, both romantic, practical and edible. CONTACT ECOLOGICA HERE FOR ADVICE ON YOUR ITALIAN GARDEN DESIGN