Chrysolepis
Encyclopedia
Chrysolepis is a small genus in the beech family Fagaceae
, endemic
to the western United States
. Its two species have the common name chinquapin. The genus occurs from western Washington south to the Transverse Ranges
in Southern California
, and east into Nevada
.
tree
s and shrub
s with simple, entire (untoothed) leaves
with a dense layer of golden scales on the underside (hence the genus name, from Greek chryso-, yellow, and lepis, scale) and a thinner layer on the upper side; the leaves persist for 3–4 years before falling.
The fruit
is a densely spiny cupule
containing usually three sweet, edible nuts
, eaten by the indigenous peoples
. The fruit also provides food for birds and wildlife.
Chrysolepis is related to the subtropical southeast Asia
n genus Castanopsis
(in which it was formerly included), but differs in the nuts being triangular and fully enclosed in a sectioned cupule, and in having bisexual catkin
s. Chrysolepis also differs from another allied genus Castanea
(chestnuts), in nuts that take 14–16 months to mature (3–5 months in Castanea), evergreen leaves and the shoots having a terminal bud.
of Chrysolepis — Chrysolepis chrysophylla and Chrysolepis sempervirens — which like many species in the related genera of Castanopsis
and Castanea
are called chinquapin, also spelled "chinkapin".
Chrysolepis chrysophylla grows at lower elevations than C. sempervirens, from sea level to 1500 metres (4,921.3 ft), rarely 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft). The leaves are 6–12 cm (2.4–4.7 in) long, with an acute (sharp-pointed) apex. The bark
is thick and rough.
Chrysolepis sempervirens grows mostly at high elevation, 1000–3000 m (3,280.8–9,842.5 ft) altitude. The leaves are smaller, 4–8 cm (1.6–3.1 in) long, with an obtuse (blunt-pointed or rounded) apex. The bark is thin and smooth.
Fagaceae
The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often...
, endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its two species have the common name chinquapin. The genus occurs from western Washington south to the Transverse Ranges
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region that runs along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between...
in Southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and east into Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Description
Chrysolepis are evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s with simple, entire (untoothed) leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
with a dense layer of golden scales on the underside (hence the genus name, from Greek chryso-, yellow, and lepis, scale) and a thinner layer on the upper side; the leaves persist for 3–4 years before falling.
The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a densely spiny cupule
Cupule
The calybium and the cupule make up the accessory fruit of flowering plants in the family Fagaceae. These two parts derive from different flower components....
containing usually three sweet, edible nuts
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
, eaten by the indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples of California
The Indigenous peoples of California are the indigenous inhabitants who have lived or currently live in the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and after the arrival of Europeans. With over one hundred federally recognized tribes, California has the largest Native...
. The fruit also provides food for birds and wildlife.
Chrysolepis is related to the subtropical southeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n genus Castanopsis
Castanopsis
Castanopsis is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through...
(in which it was formerly included), but differs in the nuts being triangular and fully enclosed in a sectioned cupule, and in having bisexual catkin
Catkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
s. Chrysolepis also differs from another allied genus Castanea
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
(chestnuts), in nuts that take 14–16 months to mature (3–5 months in Castanea), evergreen leaves and the shoots having a terminal bud.
Species
There are two speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of Chrysolepis — Chrysolepis chrysophylla and Chrysolepis sempervirens — which like many species in the related genera of Castanopsis
Castanopsis
Castanopsis is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through...
and Castanea
Castanea
Castanea can mean:* Castanea , a plant genus including the chestnuts and chinkapins* Castanea, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Castanea Township, Pennsylvania, which surrounds the CDP of the same name...
are called chinquapin, also spelled "chinkapin".
- Chrysolepis chrysophylla, the golden chinquapin or giant chinquapin:
A tree reaching 20 – tall, or sometimes a shrub 3–10 m (9.8–32.8 ft) tall. It occurs in coastal areas of the Pacific Coast RangesPacific Coast RangesThe Pacific Coast Ranges and the Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico...
from Washington near Seattle south to the San Luis Obispo area California Coast Ranges. There is also a small disjunct population distributionDisjunct distributionIn biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...
in the northern Sierra Nevada east of the Sacramento ValleySacramento ValleyThe Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
.
Chrysolepis chrysophylla grows at lower elevations than C. sempervirens, from sea level to 1500 metres (4,921.3 ft), rarely 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft). The leaves are 6–12 cm (2.4–4.7 in) long, with an acute (sharp-pointed) apex. The bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is thick and rough.
- Chrysolepis sempervirens, the bush chinquapin:
A shrubShrubA shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
only 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) tall. It occurs in interior southwest Oregon and California, in the Klamath MountainsKlamath MountainsThe Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
, the full Sierra Nevada range, and the San GabrielSan Gabriel MountainsThe San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
, San BernardinoSan Bernardino MountainsThe San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
, and San Jacinto MountainsSan Jacinto MountainsThe San Jacinto Mountains are a mountain range east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mountains are named for Saint Hyacinth . The Pacific Crest Trail runs along the spine of the range.The range extends for approximately from the San Bernardino Mountains southeast to...
of the Southern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
Transverse Ranges.
Chrysolepis sempervirens grows mostly at high elevation, 1000–3000 m (3,280.8–9,842.5 ft) altitude. The leaves are smaller, 4–8 cm (1.6–3.1 in) long, with an obtuse (blunt-pointed or rounded) apex. The bark is thin and smooth.