Castanea sativa Traditional Cache
Cheshireman: Host no longer suitable as a hide
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
One of a series of geocaches on a short walk around the southern part of the village of Harome in North Yorkshire.
The sweet chestnut tree is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to southern Europe, western Asia and north Africa and thus it is a non native tree to the British Isles. It is thought that the tree was first introduced to the British Isles by the Romans. A mature sweet chestnut tree can grow to over 100 feet tall and a truck up to 7 feet in diameter. It is not unknown for the tree to live for up to 700 years. The bark is grey-purple and smooth, which develops vertical fissures with age. The twigs are purple-brown and buds are plum, red-brown and oval in shape. The flowers of both sexes are borne in 4 to 8 inch long, upright catkins, the male flowers in the upper part and female flowers in the lower part. In the northern hemisphere, they appear in late June to July, and by autumn, the female flowers develop into spiny cupules containing 3-7 brownish nuts that are shed during October. The female flowers eventually form a spiky sheath that deters predators from the seed. A tree normal has to be 20 years old before it starts to bear fruit.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ghpxrq vafvqr gur svffher