Chestnut
a genus of plants, order Cupuliferæ, allied to the beech. The large, vesca) is a stately tree, with large, common or Spanish chestnut (Castãnea handsome, serrated, dark-green leaves.
The fruit consists of two or more seeds enveloped in a prickly husk. Probably a native of Asia Minor, it has long been naturalized in Europe, and was perhaps introduced into Great Britain by the Romans. The tree grows freely in Great Britain, and may reach the age of many centuries. Its fruit ripens only in some cases, however, and the chestnuts eaten in Great Britain are mostly imported. Chestnuts form a staple article of food among the peasants of Spain and Italy. The timber of the tree was formerly more in use than it is now; it is inferior to that of the oak, a CHEYENNE though very similar to it in appearance, especially when old. Two American species of chestnuts, C. americāna and C. pumila (the latter a shrub), have edible fruits. The former is often regarded as identical with the European tree. The name of Cape Chestnut is given to a beautiful tree of the rue family, a native of Cape Colony. The Iamil Moreton Bay Chestnut is a leguminous tree of Australia, Castanospermum austräle, with fruits resembling those of the chestnut. The water-chestnut is the water-caltrop, Trapa natans. The horsechestnut is quite a different tree from the common chestnut.
CHEVALIER (she-vä-lyā'), an honorary title given, especially in the 18th century, to younger sons of French noble families. Both the Old and Young Pretender were called the Chevalier by their partisans. In a general way it is used with the same significance as KNIGHT (q. v.).