If you think of the fall, surely boiled or roasted chestnuts will surely come to mind!

You will also think ofAnd the various delicacies made of chestnuts that come in many different forms of salty or sweet dishes - from the famous chestnut rolls, chestnut soup with chestnuts, chestnut cream and so on.

Chestnut, especially its wild varietyone, is often a decoration in city parks and parkways.

In the forest you will find it in the company of oak and elm.

This is a lasting tree and some famous old chestnut trees are over 500 years old.

While the chestnut was a favorite food of the ancient Romans, the  ancient Greeks recognized its healing properties.

Healing properties of chestnuts

There are two types of chestnut - sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum).

Sweet chestnut is one that is edible and which entertains our taste buds, while horse chestnut is used more for medicinal purposes.

Sweet chestnut fruits purify the blood and strengthen the immune system. They are hard to digest,  but they give a lot of energy.

Because of their nutritive propertieson, the ancients used them for strengthening the body, while in the Middle Ages chestnut fruits were used as an important food in the diet of the poor.

Horse chestnut is used as livestock feed, primarily for horses, hence its other name. - horse chestnut.

It is a well known fact that the Roman Emperor Caesar had burnt chestnut forests in areas that he had conquered in order to destroy the food supply for the locals. 

It is extremely nutritious, containing very valuable vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, almost all groups of vitamin B.

The fruits are used in cuisine in various ways - boiled, baked, as puree, dried for flour and in many sweet and savory dishes.

Chestnut leaves are used for tea. They contain as much as 95% of tannin,  and various resins and essential vitamin K, which is remarkably effectivee when it comes to stopping bleeding.

Combined with thyme, chestnut is used for treating problems with the respiratory system; it is used for body cleansing, helps with back pain and diarrhea.

Chestnut honey is very nutritious and beneficialhealthful. HIt heals gastritis and indigestion, protects the liver and helps improve blood circulation.

Horse chestnut isBuckeye commonly used to treat problems with veins, arthritis and rheumatism.

It hasActing diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties, reduces the swelling of swelling of lymph nodes and helps with skin diseases.

It is also known that chestnut tincture can be used for treating varicose veins, circulatory problems, pain in the bones, joints and back.

The flowers are used in making a tincture for the treatment of rheumatic disorders, gout, arthritis and neuralgia.

Chestnut buds are used for making famous Bach’s flower drops, a remedy that helps with learning and concentration.

According to an old belief, you will have good health if you find 3 seeds in the fruit of the horse chestnut.

Recipes

Chestnut flower tincture

Fill the bottle with horse chestnut fresh flowers and pour brandy.

Leave the mixture in a warm place for 4 weeks. After that, strain the mixture. Using this mixture, massage the painful area several times a day.

The tincture is an excellent remedy for rheumatism, gout and painful nerves.

Chestnut fruits tea

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over a tablespoon of grinded chestnut bark and fruits.

Leave the mixture covered for 15 minutes, then strain.

Drink 1-2 cups of tea a day.

This tea is effective for enlarged prostate, varicose veins, chronic diarrhea, and internal bleeding.

Growing chestnuts

Chestnut is most prevalent in southern Europe and the Mediterranean because it favors temperate climate due to late flowering and fruit ripening.

If you want to plant chestnut, it is important to know that it should be planted in pairs because the tree often develops flowers of only one sex. 

In order to achieve pollination and the development of fruits, you need both male and female flowers.

Interestingly, chestnuts bloom very late, in early June, and are the perfect food for bees, because it is their only source of pollen and nectar at that time of the year.

After both male and female flowers are pollinated, fruits will start to develop, coated in the well-known barbed bark which matures in September or October.

Chestnut is resistant to frost and low temperatures and can tolerate temperatures of up to -17 degrees Celsius.

Authors: Marijana Brodarić and Petra Šafranko, Divine Energy Park [url=http://www.divineenergypark.org]http://www.divineenergypark.org[/url]