noun
chinquapin; chinkapin; Castanopsis tree
Refers to any tree of the genus Castanopsis, commonly called chinquapin or chinkapin in English. The word is usually written in kana.
しいの実は食べられる。
Chinquapin nuts are edible.
公園に大きなしいの木がある。
There is a large chinquapin tree in the park.
Native Japanese word. The kanji 椎 is a Chinese character used for similar trees, but the Japanese reading しい is not derived from Chinese.