Editing Chestnut (section)

=== Fruit ===
The fruit is contained in a spiny (very sharp) [[Calybium and cupule|cupule]] {{nowrap|5–11 cm}} in diameter, also called "bur" or "[[burr (fruit)|burr]]".<ref name="cnr">[http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/DENDROLOGY/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=23 Chinese Chestnut] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014174650/http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/DENDROLOGY/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=23|date=October 14, 2008}}, College of Natural Resources, Department of Forestry, VirginiaTech.</ref> The burrs are often paired or clustered on the branch<ref name="uniminnesota" /> and contain one to seven nuts according to the different [[species]], [[variety (botany)|varieties]], and [[cultivar]]s.<ref name="foc" /><ref name="fna" /><ref name="rushforth">''Trees of Britain and Europe''. By K. Rushforth. Collins. 1999. {{ISBN|0-00-220013-9}}.</ref><ref name="bean1">''Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles''. By W.J. Bean. 8th ed., vol. 1. John Murray. 1976. {{ISBN|0-7195-1790-7}}.</ref> Around the time the fruits reach maturity, the burrs turn yellow-brown and split open in two or four sections. They can remain on the tree longer than they hold the fruit, but more often achieve complete opening and release the fruits only after having fallen on the ground; opening is partly due to soil [[humidity]].<ref name="fao" />

The chestnut fruit has a pointed end with a small tuft at its tip (called "flame" in [[Italian language|Italian]]),<ref name="fao" /> and at the other end, a [[:wikt:hilum|hilum]] – a pale brown attachment scar. In many varieties, the fruit is flattened on one or two sides. It has two skins. The first one is a hard, shiny, brown outer hull or [[husk]], called the pericarpus;<ref name="laren43">[http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/content/view/18/43/ ''Chestnut Know-How''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719000141/http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/content/view/18/43/|date=2008-07-19}}. By David McLaren. Written for Chestnut Australia Inc. 1999.</ref> the industry calls this the "peel".<ref name="fao" /> Underneath the pericarpus is another, thinner skin, called the pellicle or episperm.<ref name="laren43" /> The pellicle closely adheres to the [[seed]] itself, following the grooves usually present at the surface of the fruit. These grooves are of variable sizes and depths according to the species and variety.

The fruit inside these shows a germ with two [[cotyledon]]s connected to creamy-white flesh throughout.<ref name="chestnutbrook">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120320094600/http://www.chestnutbrook.com.au/what-are-chestnuts.html ''What Are Chestnuts'']. Information page by a small Australian grower in [[Balingup, Western Australia]].</ref> Some varieties have consistently only one embryo per fruit (nut) or have only one large fruit per burr, well rounded (no flat face). The name of varieties with these characteristics may start with "marron"<ref name="fao" /> for example ''marron de Lyon'' in France, or ''Marrone di Mugello'' in Italy.

Chestnut fruit may not exhibit [[epigeal]] dormancy.  It may germinate right upon falling to the ground in the autumn, with the roots emerging from the seed right away and the leaves and stem the following spring. The germ can lose viability soon after ripening and under drying conditions.

The superior fruiting varieties among European chestnuts have good size, sweet taste, and easy-to-remove inner skins.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Roger and Jean |title=New Zealand Chestnut Council - fact sheet |url=http://www.nzcc.org.nz/factsheet.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123120437/http://nzcc.org.nz/factsheet.html |archive-date=2018-01-23 |access-date=2018-01-10 |website=www.nzcc.org.nz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pareek |first=O.P. |title=Systematic Pomology |publisher=Scientific Publishers |year=2017 |page=428}}</ref> American chestnuts are usually very small (around {{nowrap|5 g}}), but sweet-tasting with easy-to-remove pellicles. Some Japanese varieties have very large nuts (around {{nowrap|40 g}}), with typically difficult-to-remove pellicles. Chinese chestnut pellicles are usually easy to remove, and their sizes vary greatly according to the varieties, although usually smaller than the Japanese chestnut.<ref name="nzcouncil" />