Chrysolepis is related to the subtropical southeast Asian genus Castanopsis (in which it was formerly included), but differs in the nuts being triangular and fully enclosed in a sectioned cupule, and in having bisexual catkins. Chrysolepis also differs from another allied genus Castanea (chestnuts), in nuts that take 14-16 months to mature (3-5 months in Castanea), evergreen leaves and the shoots having a terminal bud.
The golden chinquapin or giant chiquapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla) is a tree reaching 20-40 m tall, or sometimes a shrub 3-10 m tall. It occurs in coastal areas of the Pacific Coast Ranges from Washington (near Seattle) south to San Luis Obispo, but also with a small disjunct population in the Sierra Nevada east of Sacramento. It grows at lower elevations, from sea level to 1,500 m, rarely 2,000 m. The leaves are 6-12 cm long, with an acute (sharp-pointed) apex. The bark is thick and rough.
The bush chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens) is a shrub only 1-2 m tall. It occurs in interior southwest Oregon and California, in the Klamath Mountains, Sierra Nevada and San Jacinto Mountains. It grows mostly at high elevation, 1,000-3,000 m altitude. The leaves are smaller, 4-8 cm long, with an obtuse (blunt-pointed or rounded) apex. The bark is thin and smooth.