Castanopsis cuspidata

The Japanese chinquapin is in the beech or Fagaceae family and is native to Japan and Korea. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing 20–30 m tall.

• Leaves are 5–9 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, leathery in texture, tapered or somewhat rounded at the base, the apex drawn out into a slender, bluntly ended tip with an entire (no teeth) or irregularly toothed margin; upper surface is dark, shining green, the lower paler and covered with fine scales, givng it a metallic sheen.
• Flowers are in upright catkins 10–17 cm long, with small, white flowers.
• Fruit is an small acorn, hard shell, sessile, up to 2 cm long and 1.3 cm across, bottom end flat, top end tapering to a point, with 6–10 together on a common stalk.