Chinquapin — Chinquapins are shrubs and trees of the CHESTNUT genus Castanea. They differ from the CHESTNUT tree in their hairy leaves and smaller, single-seeded burrs.
Wood from the common, or Allegheny, chinquapin, Castanea pumila, a small tree of the eastern and southern United States, is used for posts. Evergreen chinquapins, Castanopsis, grow mainly in eastern Asia, except for two species native to the western United States.
One of these, the giant, or golden, chinquapin, C. chrysophylla, is a large tree, bearing leaves that are dark green above and have small golden yellow scales below. It grows chiefly on dry, poor soils.