CURLY CHESTNUT (Castanea sativa) on the branch; opened after ripening; buckthorn were contained inside the fruits of the chestnut; that the achenes; in number from 1 to 3. At maturity; the hedgehog opens splitting into four valves: in some cases; opens completely dropping the fruit; other opens less and comes off the branch with the fruits still inside. On the branch there are still some dried flowers. The chestnut has played in the past an important role in the rural economy; being used for the collection of the fruits for the human and animal nutrition; for the timber; for the extraction of tannin is intended to tanneries; and in apiculture for the production of a honey with a distinctive bitter aftertaste. Photography Patrizia Piccini. Ponzone (AL); October 2015