Mention Christmas and the nut that immediately comes to mind is chestnut.
Filipinos are familiar with the European variety of chestnut scientifically named Castanea vulgaris but not too many know that the Philippines actually has its own kastanias trees scientifically named Catanopsis philippinensis.
In Quezon province, it is called talakatak while Ilocanos of Nueva Vizcaya simply call it castanias.
It is endemic or could be found only in Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Basilan.
Both European and Philippine chestnut species belong to the Fabao cae plant family. The fruit of the local chestnut tree is similar in taste, shape, and color to that of the European variety.
A big tree, the Philippine chestnut variety reaches a height of 28 meters. Its fruit contains an edible, oblong nut that reaches a length of 3.5 centimeters.
Years back, fresh and roasted Philippine kastanias used to be readily available in the markets of Nueva Vizcaya (particularly in Solano town) and Quezon province during the last quarter of the year, notably Christmas.
But this is no longer the case, according to a report of the Los Baños-based Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD).
The decline in recent years of the supply of talakatak or kastanias fruits in these markets has been attributed to a number of factors, including the continuing dependency of local chestnut fruit gatherers on trees in the forests, compounded by the deliberate cutting of the trees for different purposes.
Many of the Philippine chestnut trees are also dying of old age, while others have disappeared due to destructive landslides and typhoons. – Rudy A. Fernandez