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Photo credit: Akaitze Kamiruaga. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

The following data have been collected in Busturialdea (Bizkaia); in any case, the described process would likewise be applicable to other regions.

Gaztainea names both chestnut trees and chestnuts, gaztainadia is Basque for chestnut grove, and lokotsa refers to the prickly husk which holds the fruit. Txirpia is the name given to nurseries where young chestnuts and other cultivars are grown.

Two local varieties of chestnut trees have been known: lirio-gaztainak and sanmigel-gaztainak. These chestnut trees grow well in ravines and on slopes. For a good crop of unblemished, shiny chestnuts, trees needed to be grafted (eztitu), otherwise their fruits would be inedible (txikola). The wood of the ungrafted (eztitzaga) chestnut tree would, by contrast, be greatly appreciated for carpentry work and furniture manufacturing. St Michael’s chestnuts bear fruit earlier than the so-called lirio ‘lily’ variety.

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