Castanopsis cuspidata (Japanese chinquapin; Japanese tsuburajii, Ã¥ÂÂæ¤Â) is a species of Castanopsis native to southern Japan and southern Korea.
It is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 20âÂÂ30 m tall, related to beech and oak. The leaves are 5âÂÂ9 cm long and 2âÂÂ4 cm broad, leathery in texture, with an entire or irregularly toothed margin. It grows in woods and ravines, especially near the sea.
The cotyledon of the nut is eaten boiled or roasted.
Its dead wood serves as host to many mushroom types, most notably the shiitake, whose Japanese name is composed of , and .