The sweet-chestnut tree

Also called “the bread tree”, the sweet chestnut has deep roots in Cevenol history. It is difficult to say whether it already grew in the Cevennes before the area was settled by humans, but it greatly helped to nourish them and thus enable the area's demographic booms of the 12th, 16th and 19th centuries. Chestnuts were then planted in groves in much of the Cevennes. The trees were grafted to create varieties with chestnuts that ripened more or less early, in line with different uses: jam-making, drying, fodder for livestock. Over a hundred varieties have been identified - a veritable heritage, shaped by centuries of selection.