The chestnuts traditionally eaten at Christmas are the European chestnut, Castanea sativa Mill, native to southern Europe and adjacent Asia. It has leaves somewhat pubescent beneath (less so than C. mollissima) and brown-dotted with tiny glands, especially near the petiole, unlike either C. mollissima or C. dentata. A specimen has been seen from Ann Arbor, but presumably from a planted tree. 

1. Outer bud scales and undersides of the leaves glabrous or nearly so; spines on involucres surrounding nuts glabrous.

C. dentata

1. Buds and undersides of the leaves ± densely pubescent; spines on involucres surrounding nuts pubescent.

C. mollissima