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Castanopsis
Castanopsis, commonly called chinquapin or chinkapin, is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 140 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. The English name chinkapin is shared with other related plants, including the golden chinkapins of the Pacific Northwest, which are sometimes included within Castanopsis but are more often considered a separate but very closely related genus, Chrysolepis.
They show many characters typical of Fagaceae. They are at least large shrubs but some species grow into sizeable trees. Their leaves are usually tough and much sclerotized and have a well-developed cuticula. Their flowers are unisexual, and the male ones are borne in erect catkins. The epigynous female flowers produce a single seed each but are congregated in small clusters. The fruit is a calybium, the kind of encased nut typical of Fagaceae. The calybium (nut) resembles a pointed acorn; the cupule (casing) is hard like that of beechnuts and spiny like that of chestnuts. Three thickened ridges run the length of the calybium's shell.
The genus contains about 140 species.
Fossil species known from Miocene Europe are:
These are known and identifiable from their fruit. It is not entirely clear if they belong here or into Chrysolepis, but the pattern of biogeography - with the two genera being most diverse around the Pacific but absent from North America east of the Rocky Mountains[verification needed] suggests that they are indeed correctly assigned to Castanopsis. In addition, two form taxa refer to the remains of these trees, at least in part: the fossil wood Castanoxylon eschweilerense and the fossil pollen Tricolporopollenites cingulum ssp. pusillus.
Castanopsis praefissa and Castanopsis praeouonbiensis are described from fossil specimens collected from the upper Miocene Shengxian Formation, Zhejiang Province, Southeast China. The fossil leaves are obovate to elliptical with serration mostly confined to the upper 1/3 of the leaf. The fossil cupule (upper part of the acorn) is globose with branched spines, and a broadly ovate nut scar. The fossil leaves and cupule have been compared with those extant in this genus. Castanopsis praefissa shows the closest affinity to C. fissa, and C. praeouonbiensis closely resembles C. ouonbiensis. Castanopsis praeouonbiensis and C. praefissa became extinct in this area because of the cooling climate from the late Miocene to the present day in Zhejiang Province.
The oldest known records of the genus are those of Castanopsis rothwellii and Castaneophyllum patagonicum from the Eocene of Patagonia.
Castanopsis had a much broader geographic range in the past than it does today. During the Plio-Pleistocene, glacial cooling and a drier climate caused the genus to disappear from Europe, North America, and parts of northern Asia. At present, Castanopsis is primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions of eastern and southeastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through Indochina to Indonesia and the Philippines, mountainous areas of Taiwan, and also in Japan.
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Castanopsis
Castanopsis, commonly called chinquapin or chinkapin, is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 140 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. The English name chinkapin is shared with other related plants, including the golden chinkapins of the Pacific Northwest, which are sometimes included within Castanopsis but are more often considered a separate but very closely related genus, Chrysolepis.
They show many characters typical of Fagaceae. They are at least large shrubs but some species grow into sizeable trees. Their leaves are usually tough and much sclerotized and have a well-developed cuticula. Their flowers are unisexual, and the male ones are borne in erect catkins. The epigynous female flowers produce a single seed each but are congregated in small clusters. The fruit is a calybium, the kind of encased nut typical of Fagaceae. The calybium (nut) resembles a pointed acorn; the cupule (casing) is hard like that of beechnuts and spiny like that of chestnuts. Three thickened ridges run the length of the calybium's shell.
The genus contains about 140 species.
Fossil species known from Miocene Europe are:
These are known and identifiable from their fruit. It is not entirely clear if they belong here or into Chrysolepis, but the pattern of biogeography - with the two genera being most diverse around the Pacific but absent from North America east of the Rocky Mountains[verification needed] suggests that they are indeed correctly assigned to Castanopsis. In addition, two form taxa refer to the remains of these trees, at least in part: the fossil wood Castanoxylon eschweilerense and the fossil pollen Tricolporopollenites cingulum ssp. pusillus.
Castanopsis praefissa and Castanopsis praeouonbiensis are described from fossil specimens collected from the upper Miocene Shengxian Formation, Zhejiang Province, Southeast China. The fossil leaves are obovate to elliptical with serration mostly confined to the upper 1/3 of the leaf. The fossil cupule (upper part of the acorn) is globose with branched spines, and a broadly ovate nut scar. The fossil leaves and cupule have been compared with those extant in this genus. Castanopsis praefissa shows the closest affinity to C. fissa, and C. praeouonbiensis closely resembles C. ouonbiensis. Castanopsis praeouonbiensis and C. praefissa became extinct in this area because of the cooling climate from the late Miocene to the present day in Zhejiang Province.
The oldest known records of the genus are those of Castanopsis rothwellii and Castaneophyllum patagonicum from the Eocene of Patagonia.
Castanopsis had a much broader geographic range in the past than it does today. During the Plio-Pleistocene, glacial cooling and a drier climate caused the genus to disappear from Europe, North America, and parts of northern Asia. At present, Castanopsis is primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions of eastern and southeastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through Indochina to Indonesia and the Philippines, mountainous areas of Taiwan, and also in Japan.