Allegheny chinquapins (Castanea pumila) are native nut trees with a range from East Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, through Florida and into the Carolinas (native range is from Maryland and extreme southern New Jersey and southeast Pennsylvania south to central Florida, west to eastern Texas, and north to southern Missouri and Kentucky).Populations of them have also been identified in Tennessee, West Virginia, and Allegheny chinquapins (or chinkapins) are closely related to the American chestnut.Chestnut blight, an imported fungal disease, all but eliminated the native American chestnut trees, but Allegheny chinquapins still persist in places within their native range.Allegheny chinquapin trees can also be infected with chestnut blight.
Allegheny chinquapin trees are sometimes called dwarf chestnuts.They grow to about 12 feet in height in wild thickets, but as individual trees, they grow to about 20 feet tall.They are adapted to all soil types except heavy clay, though they prefer well-drained soil.They do well in full sun or partial shade.
The chinquapin nuts themselves are the size of an acorn, with a sweet, nutty flavor.A single mature tree will produce between 1200-1500 nuts each year.
