Sweet chestnut, also known as Spanish chestnut or just chestnut (lat. Castanea sativa), is a deciduous long-lived tree, with large serrated leaves and a strong trunk. It is native in Southern Europe and Asia Minor and is widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. In Greece, chestnuts grow at an altitude of 800-1000 meters and reach 10 meters in height. In particular, in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, chestnuts are found on Mount Haidou, and the area of ​​the village Leivaditis, in the valley of Echinos, on Mount Papikio, in the wider area of ​​Avas, in the Forest of Dadia, in the area of ​​Metaxades, on the banks of the river Ardas, and on the island of Samothrace.  chestnut. It is a tree that grows relatively fast. 

It produces an edible seed, the chestnut, which has been used in cooking since ancient times as evidenced by various findings of the Bronze Age; in the Middle Ages, chestnuts used to be the food of the poor.

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