The sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) is the only representative of the chestnut genus (Castanea) in Europe. It is often called edible chestnut because its fruits, chestnuts, are edible. The horse chestnut, whose fruits are not suitable for consumption, does not belong to this plant family, although its name would suggest that it does.
A particularly good distinguishing feature of the sweet chestnut is the peculiar smell of its flowers. Namely, they do not smell pleasantly floral, but stink of dead fish. This does not seem to bother the insects that pollinate the flowers. On the contrary, they are attracted by the intense smell.
If you want to have a sniff, you can visit the Braunschweig Botanical Garden in June and July when the flowers are in bloom. There, a sweet chestnut stands directly above the small waterfall.
Many of mankind's technical achievements have a role model in nature. In our tip for the month of June, you will get to know some examples in more detail and can even recreate them.