We were civilized enough to remove the husks before we walloped somebody on the forehead or cheekbone. They were spiny enough that I think they may have stuck to whomever we hit with them.

Moosetrot

Yep, as a young kid I raked up a pile of leafs to jump into. Just so happened it was under one of those trees that time. I still remember that first and last jump into that pile. Rather uncomfortable.


So the boys and I picked a basket full up when we were out hunting thus year thinking they are chestnut. They had the spikey covering. The nuts are not nice and round but more flat on the sides where they grow nexted to each other. Normally there was 3 to 5 per spikey husk. Are these not safe to eat. That's why we picked them up was to eat but I have not tries to rost them yet. Seemed like deer ate them every we got them.

Check out Chestnut Ridge of Pike County if you want. I have raised chestnuts from seed for 10 years.

I'm looking for a commercial source of chinese chestnut seeds to plant. I won't buy seeds on eBay-- too risky to know what you are getting. I enjoy using my acorn planter (called "The Squirrel") & I bought the larger of the 2 sized tools, partly in case I decide to try planting some chestnuts. Indications of what I read online (& personal experience) though is that chestnut trees are very challenging to grow.

A great source of info on this topic can be had from the American Chestnut Society. They have a website I suspect.

American chestnuts have been bred with Chinese chestnuts to achieve blight resistance. Now at just 1/16 Chinese, the trees are still resistant. True American chestnuts often sprout in the Appalachians and grow a few years before succumbing to disease.

the horse chestnuts here all the animals eat them squirrel's deer bear.

Can not positively ID the nuts you posted but can say of the 50 nuts I gathered and started by putting in the fridge for 3 months 48 of them sprouted and got put into 2 gal pots, 5 got put in the ground and are doing exceptionally well. The remaining trees have also continued to grow in the pots. If you were closer you could have the potted trees for the taking, 3 years old and 3-4 feet tall already and from what I can see they all survived our 136 inches of snow this year with a week plus of sub zero temps

I put the ones I got in a plastic bag with some potting soil in the coal bin. It would have been in the 20's and maybe low 30s in there since January when I got them. Trees don't do well in ND. Clay soil, hard winters, hail and never ending wind seem to take its toll on them. I am hoping some grow.

Those are definitely not chestnuts.

Those a Buckeyes and Poisonous. Like a man from Indiana in Florida told me once. He drove all the way to Florida to hunt Gators and what was the first thing he saw was a Dang Buckeye a worthless Nut!!!

Those are buckeyes, chestnuts don't have as large an eye as a buckeye.
Grew up with two trees in the front yard , and don't remember anything eating them there.
Did see squirrels gathering them in the woods along a river, but not sure they ate them.
Chestnuts in my experience don't get as big as a buckeye.
I know where there's a grove of chestnuts , and a couple trees on a couple other places.
Buckeyes have an outside shell that has some sharp pointy burs on them.
Chestnuts ,have a lot of long spears on them , and you need welding gloves to peel them.
You can step on them and smash the nuts out, but it's easier to wear welding gloves.

Just like most Demoncrats!!

From what I have read on Buckeyes wildlife can and does eat them. If any tree grows here it is a plus.

It will poison your livestock.

https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_aegl.pdf

I had read that too. I just will plant them across the road and not in the pasture.

I planted three Chinese chestnuts tonight. I bought the bare root trees from Chief River Nursery. I think I like them better than Dunston's, we'll see

I planted them kind of in one cove