A Celebration of Sweet Chestnut: Natural and Social History / Sa majesté le châtaignier: Histoire naturelle et sociale

Description:

Text bilingual, English / French. Covering the origins and spread of the species from the Mediterranean through Europe, this chestnut book explores, though stunning photographs the life of the tree from seedling to old age. It highlights its peculiar characteristics, its twisted bark, its unique profiles and its abundant flowers that sustain biodiversity. The importance of the edible chestnut originally as pannage for pigs, and for making flour is described as the staple for millions around the Mediterranean. Chestnuts are coming back as a distinguished food item, and are now used in haute cuisine restaurants. The dark, aromatic honeys are popular and reflect the terroir of chestnut countryside. Special rooms or clèdes, were used to shed the skins of freshly-picked chestnuts and to dry them to make flour and soups. The fact that the tree lends itself to recycling as coppicing, and its young timbers ideal for posts and fences, was not lost on the Romans, and is reflected in the ancient woodlands of SE England where it vies with hornbeam. In many part of southern Europe chestnut is used for timber-framed buildings instead of oak. This is a colourful book reflecting the importance of sweet chestnut in the social history of Western Europe. Naturalist John Feltwell guides you through this historical journey of discovery.

Highlights: Natural history, Biodiversity, Social history of Cévenol life, The clède à châtaigne, Chestnut wood and timber, Diderot's comments on hedgehogs, Stevenson's comments on elephants, John Evelyn.

À voir, à lire: Histoire naturelle, Biodiversité, Histoire sociale: la vie cévenole, La clède à châtaigne, Le bois de châtaignier, Diderot et les hérissons, Stevenson et les éléphants, John Evelyn.