What are the major species of chestnut around the world?

There are four major species of chestnut tree:

• The American chestnut has an upright tree form and produces smaller, sweeter nuts. This chestnut species are susceptible to blight.
• The European chestnut is native to Western Asia, Europe, and North America. European trees also have an upright form but tend to produce bitter or bland nuts that are larger though harder to peel. European chestnut trees are susceptible to blight.
  
• Chinese chestnuts are native to Northern and Western China and tend to have a low, spreading form with many branches at ground level, though some Chinese cultivars have an upright form. Trees yield medium-sized, sweeter, easy to peel nuts.
  
• Japanese chestnuts are native to Japan and China, are also blight-resistant, and tend to be smaller with a spreading form. Nuts from Japanese trees are large but have an undesirable taste, so trees are used primarily for hybridization.
  

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Chestnuts